Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 35 - Victoria, BC
N 48° 24.888 W 123° 23.202
10U E 471385 N 5362477
One of 53 CCGA units in British Columbia.
Waymark Code: WM2XC4
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 01/04/2008
Views: 165
In Canada, marine rescue is overseen by the Canadian Coast Guard and is the primary maritime SAR responder. Having said that, Canada is a very large country with many Kilometers of coast line and territorial waters to cover (5.3 Million square Kilometers) and they simply do not have all the resources to do that effectively. Through out the past and to this day, Canada has had volunteers provide many services that benefit the citizens of Canada and visitor alike. One of these is SAR both on land and in the marine environment too.
Up until 1978-79, the marine volunteers were a loose network of unpaid rescue agents who reported incidents and organized searches for overdue vessels. It was clear by the middle 70's that a more formal way of operating this network was needed. This would provide a more effective response both in time and resources along with expanding the safety net for mariners. In 1978 the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (CCGA) was formed. Today it encompasses 5000 volunteers Canada wide who are primarily pleasure craft operators and commercial fisherman. They use their own vessels or community owned vessels to provide safe boating education and SAR related operations. The CCGA has been recognized as one of the best and most cost effective volunteer marine rescue organizations in the world and have received many awards. They have signed an agreement with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary to promote joint efforts in SAR initiatives. The CCGA is an active and contributing partner to the International Lifeboat Institution.
The CCGA responds to 25% of the approximate 7000 marine SAR incidents Canada wide and this amounts to more than 200 lives saved every year. The CCGA responsibility also extends to many of Canada’s inland waterways. The units are concentrated in the areas where the risk is high and the requirements are great. The Pacific arm of the Auxiliary is made up of 1400 volunteers in 53 units up and down the Coast of British Columbia with most providing marine search and rescue services to their local communities 24/7/365 days of the year.
CCGA Unit 35 is a group of about 70 volunteers who provide the aforementioned coverage to an area that extends out from Victoria's shoreline to Race Rocks in the West and over to Trial Island in the East. There are 2 other units that operate in the area, Oak Bay and Sooke. All three work cooperatively to provide coverage around Southern Vancouver Island.
Presently, the primary boat they use operationally is a Zodiac Rigid hulled Hurricane 850 and generally has a crew of 5 to 6 persons on board when responding to a call. The Hurricane is a boat that was developed here on the West coast of Canada. This is a Rigid Aluminum hulled inflatable boat with a 24" diameter, 7 chamber tube attached to it. Length of the vessel is 28 FT / 9.84 M. Operating payload is 5000 Lbs or 2273 Kgs. It carries 719 Liters of Fuel and has a maximum HP rating of 450, but I've seen police models with 500+ hanging off the transom. Unit 35's has twin 200's for a total of 400. Unit 35 also has a smaller rigid hull inflatable they use for training purposes. The Unit is in the process of having a new boat built that is larger and has an enclosed cabin to protect the crew better. They share dock space with the boats that carry the Pilots out to the cargo and cruise ships.
Unit 35 has a web site and it can be viewed here.
An interesting video of a Zodiac RIB can be seen here. It was shot in the waters of BC. The big waves the boat jumps over are standing waves created during tidal flow probably at Skookumchuk Narrows South East of Powell River BC.