Mariner says coast guard refused to lend him a pump for his sinking boat
A Lewisporte man says he doesn't understand why a coast guard vessel would not lend him a pump while he was bailing out his sinking boat.
Max Hart says his 20-foot boat was taking on water as it docked at his cabin in Exploits on Burnt Island in Notre Dame Bay last week.
A coast guard boat arrived shortly to help, but the crew would not give him a water pump so he could try to save his boat.
"It's a shame. It's criminal to see what kinds of rules and regulations [exist]," Hart said.
After he reached his cabin, Hart and his wife called for help. He said water was coming in his boat, and he was worried about saving his engine.
During his first call to the coast guard, Hart says he was told to call the Lewisporte fire department instead, as he was already safely on shore. However, a coast guard vessel did check on him.
Hart figured he could borrow their pump for a just a few minutes, but the crew told him that was not allowed.
"He never gave me a reason! And I said, b'y, I only needs 10 minutes of your time. He said because there's no lives in danger, you're okay."
Hart says his boat cost thousands of dollars, and doesn't understand why the crew were not allowed to lend him the pump.
"They were up there watching that boat sink, and they had tears in their eyes, no question about it. They really wanted to help me."
Emergencies only
Harvey Vardy, the superintendent of Maritime Search and Rescue for the coast guard in Atlantic Canada, said pumps can only be used in real emergencies.
He said because Hart and his wife were on shore, and there was no risk to the environment, there was no reason to use coast guard resources.
"Should we be pumping out this gentlemen's boat while it's safely alongside, and we get a call for people in the middle of the bay taking on water, there's no guarantee that we could get this pump out and working again," he said.
Still, a coast guard member did help out. Hart says one man jumped into the water with a wetsuit and helped plug a hole in his boat.
Using a different pump, Hart was able to successfully bail out much of the water three hours later.
