Butedale Update! Mayday! And Rescued!

Hey all! Just an update from the Earthly Doggy (and Human) Heaven. (Otherwise known as Butedale.) Had a bit of excitement today. Well, most of the excitement happened overnight, but I didn't have my Marine VHF turned on so I didn't learn about it until I checked my email at around ten this morning. The man I'm replacing this winter as caretaker, (Lou) left Butedale yesterday morning in his 28 foot Commander (large cabin cruiser) to return to Kitimat for the Winter. He never made it. Somewhere between here and Kitimat his boat broke down and he radio'd a Mayday. However, before the Coast Guard were able to arrive on scene they lost contact with him. When they did arrive at his last known coordinates, they found some "debris" but no boat or Lou. They continued the search all night, and were sending out a helicopter at first light. At around 10:30 this morning they found the boat, and then they found Lou about 500 feet from the boat; and he was alive, thank God. Lou is a real good man. He's like that rascally uncle that everyone loves when you're a kid. (Everyone except your parents who think he's a bad influence.) lol! Anyways, he's a good guy who loves to tell a story or ten to any who'll listen. And he's got some pretty damn good stories! But, I think he's got one to top them all now. I don't know if he was on land and the boat was wrecked on shore, or if he was in a survival floater suit and his boat was partially sunk nearby. But if he was found 500 feet from his boat then that means that it was wrecked or sinking, otherwise he'd NEVER have left his boat. He's too smart to not tie himself to the boat if he's doing something outside in rough water; and it was pretty rough. The wave heights would have been anywhere between 5 and 10 feet in Devastation Channel last night, with the winds blowing 25 knots (1 knot = 1.15 mph) and gusting to 30 knots.) I don't know exactly where he was found, but Devastation is the most likely candidate. It is WELL named. The fact that he survived the night is just amazing. It was 10 degrees Celsius below freezing (14 F) and blowing 28 to 35 mph, and he somehow survived. On shore, or in the water in a survival suit; that's damn impressive.

Anyways, they found him, alive; and he's being taken to the Hospital in Terrace, BC for observation. And once again, the folks in Hartley Bay were part of the search for Lou. One of my personal friends; a Band Council member, a Spirit Bear Guide like no other, a man gifted with pure love for his Land, his People, and all peoples, a fantastic human being by the name of Marven Robinson, personally took part in the search along with an unknown number of others from Hartley Bay. Didn't I say in my last post that the Hartley Bay folks are the best folks on Earth? Well, they are. and prove it time and time again.

Anyhoo, I'll keep ya's posted with the "what happened & why" as the info comes in to me.

Cheers!

My Earlier Butedale Post... For those who don't know...

You'll Never Guess Where We are!

Cheers again!

Wow, poor Lou!! Sounds like something was watching over him eh
I stopped breathing when you said "He never made it"
Sending all kinds of healing thoughts his way - hoping for a swift recovery!

Thank God Lou was found safe Really hope he's going to be ok,must have been a very frightening experience for him
People there do sound lovely

So glad he was found safe and as well as anyone could be.
My heart sank too when you said he never made it, thank goodness everyone carried on searching.

Thank you all for the kind words for Lou! I finally got most of the details the other day, and I should pass them on. Here's what happened...

...It was around 3:30 pm when Lou's main engine quit on him while he was in some 6 to 10 foot waves. While he was trying to get his kicker going he got pushed onto some rocks 50 to 60 feet from shore and he got knocked overboard. He had to swim the 50 - 60 feet to shore in those big waves, then somehow he got onto shore and into the bush and out of the 50 mph winds. (It was about -10 C, 14 F.) He said; "I learned to shake to stay warm that night!!" He went into the water with nothing to signal with. He was wearing his Mustang Survival Floater Jacket, but he didn't have any light source or even a firesteel (ferro-rod misch-metal spark thrower) to signal with. After spending the night shaking and shivering in the woods he went out onto the beach at first light and tried to wring as much of the remaining water out of his clothes as possible, and he said; "it was the most nippy thing I've ever done in my life!!" While he was on the beach a search plane flew overhead but missed him. Fortunately they turned around on the far side of the channel and flew by again. This time they saw him. He waved, they waved. Lou said; "I was the happiest waver in the whole world!!" (I don't doubt it!) Ten minutes later and he was in the 500 hp Coast Guard Zodiac on his way to the Coast Guard vessel Gordon Reid with some warm clothes, a hot drink, and some hot food. By 3:30 (and exactly 24 hours after the disaster began) he was back in Kitimat and headed for bed.

Here's a couple snippets from the local news reports.

From the Comox Valley Record

The crew of an RCAF Buffalo search and rescue airplane joined personnel from the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Gordon Reid on Friday to rescue a boater who had been stranded since the previous night near Douglas Channel.
The boater, onboard a 28-foot aluminum vessel, reported to Coast Guard radio at 3 p.m. Thursday that he was experiencing mechanical difficulties, when communications with him were lost. A Buffalo airplane and Cormorant helicopter from 442 Squadron were launched from their base at 19 Wing Comox to join the Coast Guard in the search near Douglas Channel near Kitimat.
Despite unsuccessful search efforts Thursday evening that were hampered by winds of 50 to 70 km/h , 442 Squadron and the Coast Guard continued their efforts into the morning, searching the inlets and channels near the boater's last known position.
The crew of the Gordon Reid's Fast Response Craft (rigid hull inflatable boat) were first to spot the partially submerged boat at approximately 12:30 p.m. Shortly afterwards, crew on the Buffalo located the man on shore, thanks in part to the orange floater coat he was wearing.
"When we first sighted the individual, we thought we were looking at an orange gas can near a log," said Capt. Andrew Doepner, aircraft commander. "We flew over at 1000 feet and saw him waving to us in his orange jacket. He did everything right; he had the right clothing and called the right people."
After the Buffalo crew dropped smoke markers to indicate the stranded boater's position, Coast Guard members on the fast response craft picked up the man on shore. He was taken to Kitimat in good condition.

— 19 Wing Comox


From CFTK-TV

A military official says a man who was rescued after a boating mishap on Douglas Channel south of Kitimat last week did everything right -- and that's why he's alive today.
Air Force Captain Trevor Reid says the man had the right clothing, was wearing a bright orange floater jacket and called the right people after encountering mechanical trouble with his eight-metre boat Thursday afternoon.

Sixty-nine-year-old Lou Simoneau says it was a harrowing ordeal.

"Water was pretty bad and my motor quit, so I started drifting, I called the Coast Guard and anyway I started drifting and tried to start my little kicker and by the time I got it started it, I hit a rock and then I flew overboard and had to swim 50 feet to shore. I give up on my boat -- I didn't care if it sank or not; you could always replace a boat, you can't replace a life -- I did fear for my life a while, I did the best to survive, I'm glad I made it," he said.

A Buffalo airplane and Cormorant helicopter were dispatched from Comox Thursday, to help the Coast Guard in their search, which was hampered by winds of between 50 and 70 kilometres an hour.
The search had to be called off Thursday night, but was resumed Friday morning in windy, bitterly cold conditions. Several of the searchers ended up treated for hypothermia.
Simoneau's partially submerged vessel was spotted just after noon.
He was then found on shore a short time later, and was taken to safety. His location was pinpointed with a smoke marker.

So there's the update, folks. He's one tough man; that night would'a killed most people. Anyhoo, the night that i got the news that Lou was okay, the Spirits of Butedale decided to put on a show of gratitude for his rescue. (Okay, it was a stream of solar wind from a big coronal hole, but I like the thought of happy Spirits better.

The "Happy Spirits."






Caught a meteor in this one.

Some came 'em Aurora, some call 'em Northern Lights, Me, for that night, they were my Happy Spirits. And don't nobody argue wid me!

Righty then...


Cheers!

Wow!!! What an experience for him. Glad to hear he was rescued safely though. Those photos of the "Happy Spirits" are amazing They are something I would love to see. Don't suppose I ever will though

Yippee! An update. Was thinking about you earlier. Am saving reading this one for before beddybyes.

Oh absolutely beautiful, thanks so much for the piccie, have heard about them, but never seen them, like Lynne I probably never will now either.

Wow what an adventure & thankfully a good outcome. Amazing photos