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Boat capsizes in Caddy Bay

Two members of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club Race Team spent part of their Sunday afternoon in the water after their boat capsized.
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This picture shows the aftermath of a capsizing Sunday afternoon in Cadboro Bay. The two-person boat tipped over while performing what appears to have been a turning exercise. The crew (which appears to have been wearing life-vests) could be seen scrambling on the bottom of the boat, but eventually managed to right their vessel. Wolf Depner/News Staff

Two members of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club Race Team spent part of their Sunday afternoon in the water after their boat capsized.

The incident happened on what appears to have been the Oak Bay side of the beach at around 1:20 p.m. as several boats were plying the waters of Cadboro Bay. From the shore, it appeared the boat capsized while making a turn.

Shore observers could see two individuals scrambling onto the bottom of the boat. They eventually succeeded in standing the boat up again, then resumed their sailing. Notably, the incident generated little interest from people walking along the beach, nor the other boats circling them, suggesting that the incident was more routine than serious.

Both individuals appear to have been wearing life-jackets.

While sailors simulate capsizing as part their training in preparation for the real thing, Doug Bell, chairman of the club’s sailing training program, said the two sailors, likely teenagers, genuinely capsized.

“I can assure it wasn’t voluntary,” he said, with a chuckle in reference to the cold water.

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Wolf Depner

About the Author: Wolf Depner

I joined the national team with Black Press Media in 2023 from the Peninsula News Review, where I had reported on Vancouver Island's Saanich Peninsula since 2019.
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