Coast Guard took 23 minutes to reach sinking boat

It took 23 minutes for the Richmond-based rescue hovercraft to reachtwo men aboard asinking vessel near Point Grey, off thewest side of Vancouver,aCoast Guard spokesperson said.

Themenare nowsafe and the vessel, an 18-metrefishing boat, is underwaterin the Strait of Georgia, about five kilometres from the nearest shore.

The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria says a mayday call was picked up at 5:15 a.m. PT and a number ofcoast guard and RCMPvesselsand commercial boats raced to the rescue.

Atugboat operated by Island Tug and Barge was the first vessel to reach the scene.

John Staynor, manager of compliance for Island Tug and Barge, said tugboat operators used their searchlights to spot the fishing boat and the crewmembers in the water. The tugboat operators then prepared to launcha small rigid-hull inflatable boat to rescue the men.

"Before they were able to get their boat in the water, the Coast Guard was there," Staynor said.

Canadian Coast Guard spokesmanDan Bate saidthe Coast Guard hovercraft arrived minutes after the tugboat.

"There were two people in the water. They had tied rubber fenders from the boat andhad lifejackets on. The boat had at that point, disappeared from the water," Bate said.

"A coast guard swimmer was dispatched and brought both men on board the hovercraft where they were treated for hypothermia."

There is no word yet on why the fishing boat went down.

Rescues in waters off Vancouver have beenin the spotlight recentlybecause ofthe closure of the Kitsilano Coast Guard base.

Critics of the closurehave claimed it will dramatically slow any response near English Bay, Burrard Inlet, or Spanish Banks, as the closest base is the hovercraft station in Richmond.

But Staynor said the fact that the hovercraftarrived on scene before his tugboat operators could deploy their rescue boat is significant.

"That was a quick response," he said.

Staynor said his company is "very comfortable" with the Coast Guard's current ability to respond in the area. He said the use of the hovercraft mayin fact speed up some responses.

"In this case, the hovercraft is very fast. It has a chance to be fast not only getting there, it has a chance to be fast gettingthe person to medical help," Staynor said. "You can actually run up on the shore to a waiting ambulance instead of going at a slower speed back to a dock."