Coast guard hovercraft damaged in collision with sailboat off B.C. coast
A Canadian Coast Guard hovercraft sustained damage after colliding with a sailboat near Salt Spring Island on Monday evening.
The hovercraft CCGS Siyay was transporting advanced life-support paramedics to Ganges Harbour to medevac a patient to Vancouver around 5:45 p.m.
Coast guard officials say the craft was travelling at eight knots – approximately 15 km/h – in the harbour when an unlit sailboat that was anchored outside the common anchorage area suddenly appeared in front of the vessel.
"The captain of the Siyay was able to perform an emergency maneuver and avoid direct contact with the sailboat," coast guard spokesperson Kiri Westnedge said in a statement Tuesday.
"However, there was contact on the starboard side of the hovercraft and the bowsprit of the sailboat (a spar that extends from a sailboat’s bow)," she added.
Westnedge says the sailboat was not detected on the hovercraft's radar.
No one was aboard the sailboat when the vessels collided. The paramedics and the seven-person hovercraft crew were uninjured in the crash, according to the coast guard.
The rescuers were able to complete the medevac to Vancouver.
"We are assessing the damage to the hovercraft," Westnedge said. "The lifeboat station remains ready to respond to search and rescue incidents. We are also attempting to locate the owner of the sailboat."
The coast guard says it regularly provides medevac services, including via hovercraft, "in situations where access to a location is over challenging terrain, or it is faster or easier to respond via water."
The Siyay, measuring 28.5 metres long and 12 metres wide, is one of four hovercrafts operated by the Canadian Coast Guard. It is capable of travelling up to 50 knots – or 93 km/h – over water, and can also travel over ice and land.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.