John Barker
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 20/01) - A Yellowknife couple whose boat was swamped in bad weather on Great Slave Lake last Thursday have their satellite phone to thank for their quick rescue.

Three Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary officers aboard the Nick Martin, an eight-metre search-and-rescue vessel based in Yellowknife, sailed 160 kilometres to Quiet Cove on the East Arm to aid the stranded couple, RCMP Sgt. James Hardy said.

The couple, who were not identified, were not injured, said Hardy, the RCMP's Yellowknife-based liaison with the coast guard.

Hardy said the distress call came in around suppertime and it took the Nick Martin, a Boston Whaler, a couple of hours to reach the stranded vessel.

The couple's boat was swamped when bad weather blew up suddenly and water contaminated their fuel, Hardy said.

While the RCMP don't have exact numbers, Hardy believes the number of distress calls and reports for overdue vessels on Great Slave Lake are up over last year at this time. This is partially due to stormy spring weather.

Hardy said while lack of preparation contributes to some of the boating problems, sudden bad weather can play havoc even for well-prepared boaters.

As well as the couple rescued at Quiet Cove, there were 12 reports of overdue vessels last week. A man and his dog had to be rescued about 48 kilometres east of Hay River when the boat's engine blew up. The coast guard auxiliary also aided a fishing vessel that ran out of fuel 16 kilometres out of Hay River.