Two Canadian sailors, whose ship was defective, were saved by members of the Pacific Northwest division of the US Coast Guard earlier this week.
Since that time, a video has been put together which shows the heroic rescue.
At around 11 a.m. on Tuesday, October 10th, the command centre for the US Coast Guard received a call that a vessel had broken down around 150 kilometres off Port Renfrew in the open ocean.
“The vessel was adrift with a broken propeller, ripped sails, and a dead generator,” Petty Officer Annika Hirschler, US Coast Guard, told Victoria Buzz.
It was decided that a helicopter with a rescue team would be dispatched from a station in Astoria, Washington. This was determined after assessing the distance of the vessel, weather, and other factors.
“The US Coast Guard is ready to rescue and assist mariners from any nation who are in distress in our waters,” said Petty Officer Hirschler.
The helicopter led by an aviation survival technician arrived at the wrecked vessel around 3:40 p.m. and successfully hoisted the two sailors up into the aircraft and proceeded to bring them to a station in Port Angeles where they were released to the Canadian Border Patrol.
The US Coast Guard says they were reported to be in stable condition at that time.
Below is the video footage of the rescue:
#ICYMI: Yesterday, #USCG aircrew from Air Station Astoria rescued 2 Canadian men from a sinking sailing vessel 80 miles offshore of Neah Bay, WA. Both men are in stable condition. pic.twitter.com/fpRxqDIEvV
— USCGPacificNorthwest (@USCGPacificNW) October 12, 2023
Petty Officer Hirschler told Victoria Buzz that all rescue teams have the option to use GoPros on any mission which simply attach to their uniforms.
In addition to that, the helicopters are all equipped with cameras whose footage contributes to the videos edited by the public affairs team within the US Coast Guard.
Petty Officer Hirschler says that the intended trajectory, launching point and destination of the two sailors’ voyage is unknown.
