Two canoers are warming up after an unorthodox rescue in the chilly waters off Vancouver Island on Monday.
Victoria Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) spokesperson Jeff Olson said someone called 911 after spotting a capsized canoe just north of Island View Beach on the Saanich peninsula shortly after 4 p.m.
Olson said two people were spotted in the water nearby, about 200 or 300 metres from the shoreline.
That’s when a Good Samaritan stepped in.
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Olson said a man on shore decided to try to rescue the pair, but had second thoughts about trying to swim out in the frigid water.
“He wanted to go in the water and swim after them but was biased against it without flotation,” he said. “The gentleman then decided to get on a log and he paddled the log out to the individuals who climbed on and they made it to shore.”
The entire rescue took about half an hour, according to Olson.
He said an ambulance and police were on scene to warm them up when the trio returned to shore.
It’s not known how the canoers are doing, nor what caused them to capsize in the first place.
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