A boater was rescued on Monday evening after spending three hours in the frigid waters off Vancouver Island.
The Canadian Coast Guard says a woman and her daughter were kayaking in Nanoose Bay when they heard screaming and called 911.
The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria dispatched the coast guard ship Cape Cockburn and a fast-response vessel to the scene where the screams were heard.
The agency also issued a mayday call to so-called “vessels of opportunity,” alerting civilian watercraft to respond to the area if available.
The Empress III, a local water taxi, was first on scene and located the victim clinging to the side of his overturned skiff, a coast guard spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Rescuers aboard the fast-response vessel French Creek 1 recovered the man from the water and provided immediate first-aid treatment.
“The person was wearing a life jacket but had been in …