MalahatTwo7
11-17-2003, 11:14 AM
I can honestly say this was not me, I was working in another city when this event took place. However, I have heard the tale as it was "witnessed" by the guys on duty yesterday, and it was pretty funny. No one got hurt, so that makes it a good day.
Tipsy Island sailors bail out of San Francisco trip
Cindy E. Harnett Times Colonist Monday, November 17, 2003
If you're going to San Francisco by all means put flowers in your hair but don't get drunk, board a sailboat and head out into gale-force winds, advises Victoria Police Sgt. Doug Bond.
About 5 p.m. Sunday night, Victoria police and Coast Guard auxiliary headed out in high winds and raging sea swells in pursuit of three allegedly drunk individuals -- two in their 60s and one about age 45 -- who left in a 50-foot sailboat from Victoria.
They were headed for San Francisco. They got as far as Esquimalt.
"The captain wanted to go to San Francisco," said Victoria acting Sgt. Clarence Newcombe.
"Somehow he changed his mind or was talked out of it and ended up in Esquimalt Harbour."
As the merry threesome left the Inner Harbour, they reportedly jostled other boats on the way out, said Newcombe. That investigation continues.
The captain contacted the Victoria Rescue Co-ordination Centre concerned about the gale-force wind warning. Over the radio it sounded as if one passenger was vomiting, say police. The two passengers were not sailors.
The co-ordination centre contacted police.
Newcombe and Constables Brent Burger and Steve Kowan with nine members of Canadian Coast Guard auxiliary No. 35 headed out in two boats.
They made an extensive search along the strait up to Albert Head near Race Rocks.
"They were very high seas, large swells and the wind was blowing."
Although confident in his colleagues' boating abilities, Newcombe admitted: "I was hanging on for dear life."
After almost three hours, during a final sweep of Esquimalt harbour as they headed back to Victoria, the auxiliary spotted the double-masted sailboat near Inskip Island.
The captain was sitting behind the wheel with the motor idling.
"I think it's ridiculous to think that three grown men would be out at sea in darkness in an intoxicated state," said Newcombe, shivering from the cold.
The sailboat was towed to the Canadian Naval Sailing Association.
The three men were then loaded into a patrol car and taken into police custody about 8:30 p.m
"They were not in the best of moods," according to police.
Charges of impaired operation of a vessel against the captain are pending.
The rough seas and strong winds made boarding the vessel difficult and hazardous.
The rescue co-ordination centre did not categorize the mission as a search and rescue, but rather a police matter.
And while Coast Guard officer John Millman hesitated to give advice Sunday night, he did offer:
"Most mariners would not leave at night when a gale-force wind warning is in effect."
© Copyright 2003 Times Colonist (Victoria)
Tipsy Island sailors bail out of San Francisco trip
Cindy E. Harnett Times Colonist Monday, November 17, 2003
If you're going to San Francisco by all means put flowers in your hair but don't get drunk, board a sailboat and head out into gale-force winds, advises Victoria Police Sgt. Doug Bond.
About 5 p.m. Sunday night, Victoria police and Coast Guard auxiliary headed out in high winds and raging sea swells in pursuit of three allegedly drunk individuals -- two in their 60s and one about age 45 -- who left in a 50-foot sailboat from Victoria.
They were headed for San Francisco. They got as far as Esquimalt.
"The captain wanted to go to San Francisco," said Victoria acting Sgt. Clarence Newcombe.
"Somehow he changed his mind or was talked out of it and ended up in Esquimalt Harbour."
As the merry threesome left the Inner Harbour, they reportedly jostled other boats on the way out, said Newcombe. That investigation continues.
The captain contacted the Victoria Rescue Co-ordination Centre concerned about the gale-force wind warning. Over the radio it sounded as if one passenger was vomiting, say police. The two passengers were not sailors.
The co-ordination centre contacted police.
Newcombe and Constables Brent Burger and Steve Kowan with nine members of Canadian Coast Guard auxiliary No. 35 headed out in two boats.
They made an extensive search along the strait up to Albert Head near Race Rocks.
"They were very high seas, large swells and the wind was blowing."
Although confident in his colleagues' boating abilities, Newcombe admitted: "I was hanging on for dear life."
After almost three hours, during a final sweep of Esquimalt harbour as they headed back to Victoria, the auxiliary spotted the double-masted sailboat near Inskip Island.
The captain was sitting behind the wheel with the motor idling.
"I think it's ridiculous to think that three grown men would be out at sea in darkness in an intoxicated state," said Newcombe, shivering from the cold.
The sailboat was towed to the Canadian Naval Sailing Association.
The three men were then loaded into a patrol car and taken into police custody about 8:30 p.m
"They were not in the best of moods," according to police.
Charges of impaired operation of a vessel against the captain are pending.
The rough seas and strong winds made boarding the vessel difficult and hazardous.
The rescue co-ordination centre did not categorize the mission as a search and rescue, but rather a police matter.
And while Coast Guard officer John Millman hesitated to give advice Sunday night, he did offer:
"Most mariners would not leave at night when a gale-force wind warning is in effect."
© Copyright 2003 Times Colonist (Victoria)