British Columbia is home to a unique life-saving tool – one that is fast, powerful and can float on thin air.
The province’s fleet of search and rescue hovercrafts are based in Richmond – the only in Canada dedicated solely to rescue missions.
Each machine can cruise up to 60 knots or around 100 kilometres per hour, the speed playing a pivotal role during every call.
“A lot of what we do it ends up being preventative. I mean we’re able to respond quickly so that a situation doesn’t get any worse,” said Coast Guard Bay Sea Island officer Bruce Briggs.
The hovercrafts are unique in that they can operate both on land and in water.
“The lift engines lift the craft up and it floats on a cushion of air so it makes it a fully amphibious vehicle. It can transition from land to water seamlessly,” Briggs added.
But speed isn’t the only thing that’s unusual about the machines, they can also cruise on shallow water.
“They’re not ideal in every environment but in the area we’re at with being in the strait and being in the high density area with a lot of shallow water, I think it makes it a good tool for the area,” Briggs said.
The three hovercrafts are powered by four diesel engines and have a maximum take-off weight of 70,000 kilograms.
They’re also extremely loud and crew members are expected to wear special gear when operating the machines.
“Inside we actually wear headsets similar to what a helicopter pilot would use. That allows us to talk normally without having to yell, especially during high speed navigation,” Briggs told CTV News.
Julie Patrick has been a hovercraft pilot for about a year and a half. While every day is different the goal remains the same, according to Patrick.
“There’s a lot of people out there, a lot of people who maybe don’t know as much as they should about the waters and then get themselves into trouble,” Patrick said.
Of 335 missions last year, 40 took the hovercrafts to Vancouver Island.
At top speed rescue teams can make it across the Strait in under an hour.
