Once upon a time, I wanted to join the Coast Guard. I wanted to take off to Nova Scotia and attend the Coast Guard College, and spend my days at sea rescuing mariners in distress and patrolling the coast to prevent accidents and maritime pollution.
I never ended up going, but about a year ago I did the next best thing: I joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary here in Sooke. The Coast Guard Auxiliary is a volunteer marine rescue and safety organization, which supplements the Coast Guard and other safety organizations in protecting lives at sea. The experience has been nothing short of exhilarating, having been out on numerous calls, crashing through the waves in our unit’s rigid-hull inflatable rescue boat. One of the advantages of my career in real estate is that it has a flexible schedule which enables me to respond to the rescue pager almost any time. Along with our rescue duties, our unit also provides pleasure craft safety checks to ensure everyone out on the water is as safe as possible before they leave the dock.
Me, Robert, Chris, and George in Victoria at a SAR Exercise last year.
Last night, our unit was supposed to go out on the water for some training. Because I have the worst cold I’ve ever had (in summer, no less) I didn’t attend. But talking to my friend Jason van der Valk of Edgeflow Media, who is also a member, the training turned into a rescue of sorts. It turns out that a young cow had fallen from the edge of its pasture on to the rocky beach below. Surrounded by high cliffs and deep water, it was stuck there. So, our unit went out to see what they could do for the animal, which was located just east of Sheringham Point. After comforting the cow with some hay, it was determined that some veteranarian help would be needed to sedate the animal before attempting to move it. Jason figures they’ll need a floating dock section or maybe even the rescue boat to move the sedated animal off the rocks.
Jason van der Valk (right) and Unit 37 - Sooke with the cow.
I’ll try and update the situation if I can.
If there’s anything that highlights the oddities that come from living and working in a semi-rural community like Sooke better than this, I’d love to hear it!
-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional
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Tagged: auxiliary | BC | beach | CCGA | CCGA-P | cliffs | coast guard | cow | rescue | Sooke | unit 37 | volunteer
