A man rescued from the water, after trying to get onto a sailboat anchored in Sooke Harbour, is expected to survive.
At approximately 10:45 on Jan. 29, a call was received by Sooke RCMP from a resident on Murray Road who had heard a man calling for help for about 10 minutes. The Victoria Joint Rescue Coordination Centre received a call at that time.
Staff Sgt. Stephen Wright stated that when the RCMP arrived they saw a man clinging to a sailboat.
He was going under water at that point," said Wright.
Two men arrived on the scene with a boat, before the rescue vessel arrived, and took the man to the dock at the Prestige hotel. Attending at the hotel were emergency and ambulance personnel as well as the Coast Guard Auxiliary, said Wright.
The 65-year-old man was transported to hospital for hypothermia. Wright said the man was "very cold to the touch."
Wright said the man lives on the sailboat as they found personal effects on the boat. He believes the man was attempting to get on board the sailboat from a dingy.