**** RCMP Media Release
An off-duty RCMP officer and a retired RCMP officer rescued a fisherman from St. Margaret’s Bay after the fisherman’s boat capsized.
On May 15, 2021, shortly after 1 p.m., Sgt. Rick Plume and his wife, Cst. Lisa Spracklin, who is a retired member of the RCMP, were out on their sailboat near Clam Island in St. Margaret’s Bay. They were making their way back to shore when they noticed a man in a small fishing boat, who was frantically bailing out water. As Sgt. Plume and Cst. Spracklin neared the man, his boat began to capsize. The man was able to grab a life jacket just as he fell into the water.
Sgt. Plume and Cst. Spracklin began navigating toward the man, who was now trying to swim to shore. Cst. Spracklin extended their boarding ladder to him, and he was able to grab hold of it and, with some assistance, was pulled into Sgt. Plume and Cst. Spracklin’s sailboat.
Sgt. Plume and Cst. Spracklin provided the man with a warm jacket and helped him out of his wet clothing, as the water was still very cold. In speaking with the man, they learned that he had been out fishing mackerel when his boat began taking on water. Sgt. Plume and Cst. Spracklin dropped the man off at his truck near Boutiliers Point, as he did not seem to be experiencing any serious effects from his time in the water.
Thanks to the quick thinking and action taken by Sgt. Plume and Cst. Spracklin, the man made it safely back to shore that day.
