1 dead, 1 airlifted to hospital after sailboat capsizes near Victoria

A Washington state ferry passes through a channel in the San Juan Islands and in view of Mount Baker Thursday, March 26, 2015, near Friday Harbor, Washington state. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Elaine Thompson

One man is dead and another was rescued by helicopter after a sailboat ran aground in the Haro Strait, east of Victoria, during what’s already been a deadly start to the spring sailing season.

The United States Coast Guard says the survivor placed a mayday call over marine radio shortly after midnight on April 20, when the sailboat, named Apache, was forced onto the rocky shore of San Juan Island.

The agency launched two rescue vessels and a helicopter from Port Angeles, Wash., which located a debris field in the water off the island’s Cattle Point, U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Chris Butters said on Tuesday.

The helicopter crew hoisted a middle-aged man from the water and transported him to hospital in Bellingham, Wash.

One of the rescue boats then located a senior deceased in the water “who was not wearing a life jacket, and matched the description provided by the individual who was rescued,” Butters said in an interview.

“The deceased male was transferred over to the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office to do next of kin with the San Juan County Coroner.”

The shipwreck victims are both American citizens who had set sail from Point Roberts, Wash., on April 19, according to authorities.

“The individual that was rescued, he was wearing his life jacket and had a marine radio that was attached to his life jacket,” Butters said.

“So he was able to get out that mayday broadcast, and we were able to receive that. He was extremely calm, cool and collected over the radio, and was able to give that information to us and get a helicopter out there to go rescue him.”

It is not clear how the sailboat ended up capsizing on the rocks – whether the sailors encountered mechanical problems or had issues navigating the narrow waterways around the San Juan Islands.

“Talking to the survivor, he was very forthcoming about how wearing a life jacket and having a radio and emergency communications attached to that life jacket saved his life,” Butters added.

“Disasters and capsizes happen quick, and he was able to react and save his life.”

On Thursday, the body of a 64-year-old woman was recovered near a capsized pleasure craft on the Washington state mainland near Neah Bay following a massive 28-hour search for the overdue vessel.

Read more: Search for missing boaters off B.C. suspended after body found, 2 still missing

Two others on board, a 63-year-old man and a 69-year-old man are still missing and presumed drowned.