BC Ferries rescue mission delays Coastal Inspiration to Tsawwassen

A marine rescue off Valdez Island left BC Ferries passengers stuck on board the Coastal Inspiration a lot longer than they planned early Tuesday morning.

Deborah Marshall, with BC Ferries, told Daily Hive the Coast Guard tasked the ferry from Duke Point to Tsawwassen with helping a yacht that had run aground about 6:30 am.

BC Ferries immediately sent a rescue boat out to the 33-foot yacht but by the time it arrived, the two boaters were already in their dinghy, she said.

The Coast Guard arrived shortly after, leaving the BC Ferries rescue boat to return to The Coastal Inspiration empty handed.

As a result, the Coastal Inspiration is currently running about an hour behind schedule. You can get updates on delays here.

Rescue co-ordinator Colin Henthorne told Daily Hive it is not known how the yacht ran aground, but no one was hurt in the incident.

Henthorne said the Coast Guard’s Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre has responded to 170 groundings on the BC coast in the past year.