As most local boaters know, the Washington State Parks system struggles to maintain the large amount of infrastructure that makes up the marine parks and, occasionally, the lack of maintenance creates dangerous situations. Over Memorial Day weekend we were in Reid Harbor and were going out to prawn at high slack when we noticed a white shadow in the water. We motored over to it and saw that it was a park mooring buoy submerge about a foot below the water.
When we returned to the dock, we decided to tie a float to it so a boat would not collide with it. The next morning we saw the ranger and alerted him to the issue. He took a minute with us and admitted the buoy had been that way for several years. It had been written up to be fixed, but the maintenance people had not addressed it…yet. After he left we were talking about it and several in our group were under the impression that the mooring buoys were checked on a yearly basis. Based on what the ranger said, that might not be the case or perhaps the buoy would have been repaired. It does give one pause when you go to grab a buoy on a windy day…
From the buoy, we went about our weekend with several boats moored on the park’s floating docks. After lunch on Saturday we heard a crash and saw a person at the other end of the dock had fallen. Being a retired firefighter/EMT, I walked down and volunteered my services. Apparently this person had stepped through the dock and as the leg went through it split the skin open around the kneecap. The patient wasn’t doing well and was going in and out of consciousness while myself and another firefighter treated the injury. I suggested that one of the boats take her to Roche Harbor and then get transportation to the clinic in Friday Harbor.
Apparently this had happened to someone before in the group so they asked 911 for an evacuation. The next thing we know a helicopter was on its way, set to meet us at the airfield by John’s Pass. We used a blanket as a stretcher, loaded her into a Boston Whaler and by the time we got to John’s Pass the helicopter from Airlift Northwest was making its approach. The flight crew was great and had the injured boater on the way to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bellingham within 15 minutes. I later heard the patient received stitches and was home that night.
Since we boat in the San Juan Islands and are aware of the costs of an air evacuation, we have an annual membership to Airlift Northwest. The membership is $79 per family. I highly recommend it to all boaters. I don’t know if this patient’s insurance will cover the flight (costing $6,000 or more) but it is great that we have this option. If you have someone who is truly sick, its nice to know that first responders can get them to advance medical care quickly
The real cautionary tale in this incident is that our parks are deteriorating and we need to take a “user beware” approach when we use them. The park’s budget was slashed in 2012 and unfortunately the Discover Pass program has not made up the difference, and it shows. This is also a good time to review your onboard medical kit and make sure its adequate for the type of cruising you do.
Be safe out there, boaters!
Editors Note: A big thanks to Rick Bunzel for sharing this story. Rick owns a Camano Troll 31, Wild Hare, which is homeported in Anacortes, Washington.
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