Good Samaritans help Coast Guard, South Whatcom Fire make rescues after boats capsize
Good Samaritans helped the U.S. Coast Guard Bellingham Station and the South Whatcom Fire Authority make a pair of rescues — one in the San Juan Islands and one on Lake Whatcom — after boats capsized in the past week.
The two rescues should serve as a reminder not only to the value of life jackets, but also that waters around Whatcom County remain dangerously cold despite the rising summer temperatures.
“Just a few minutes and you’ll be shivering uncontrollably,” South Whatcom Fire Authority Assistant Chief Mitch Nolze told The Bellingham Herald. “People need to be cognizant of water temperatures and how dangerous they can be.”
Both rescues also showed the value of good Samaritans.
South Whatcom Fire crews were called to a water rescue at 7:45 p.m. Monday, July 20, on Lake Whatcom just south of Fairview Point, Nolze said, after a motorized boat with four people capsized.
All four people managed to get out of the chilly Lake Whatcom water and climb on the bottom of the hull, and some nearby good Samaritans were able to help get them out of the water, Nolze reported. South Whatcom’s rescue boat did respond and was able to support the rescue and provide towing service for the capsized boat.
Nobody was seriously injured in the incident, Nolze said.
That rescue came days after crews from U.S. Coast Guard Station Bellingham rescued three people after their 12-foot boat capsized approximately a half-mile northwest of Guemes Island.
In that rescue, a good Samaritan on the island called Skagit County dispatch at 10:22 p.m. Thursday after reporting hearing multiple voices shouting “Where are you? and “Don’t give up, I’m right here,” according to a Coast Guard release on the incident.
A 45-foot Coast Guard response boat from Bellingham and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Port Angeles responded, and the crew from Bellingham managed to pull two males and one female from the water off North Beach, the release state. The people were pulling crab pots when their boat capsized, and none were reportedly wearing life jackets.
The rescued boaters were taken to Anacortes for medical evaluation.
“The most recent studies indicate 86% of drowning victims in 2019 were not wearing life jackets, and most drowning victims are reportedly good swimmers,” the release said. “The Coast Guard encourages mariners to always wear life jackets at all times while on the water.”
Nolze echoed that sentiment, saying every person aboard a boat should have and use properly fitted personal flotation devices and boats should be equipped with proper signal equipment. He added that South Whatcom Fire has partnered with a few other agencies in the area to help offer kids’ life jackets for loan at Bloedel Donovan Park and the Lake Samish boat launch.
“We have so many wonderful opportunities to enjoy paddling in Whatcom County,” the Whatcom County Search and Rescue Council said in a Facebook post Monday. “Please remember that life jackets are required by law on all vessels, including kayaks, canoes, and stand up paddleboards. It’s up to you to wear it! Paddlesport experts choose to wear a life jacket for a reason — life jackets save lives.”
