Charlottetown Fire Department assists boaters taking on water

Emergency officials in Charlottetown had to assist a pair of boaters and their dogin the harbour on Friday afternoon.

According to Charlottetown's deputy fire chief Tim Mayme, the department received a call for assistance just after 2:30 p.m.

A rescue boat from the Charlottetown Fire Department was able toreachthe boaters, who weren't too far from the shore and just south ofthe Blockhouse Point Lighthouse.

WadeMartelsaid heand his wife Kim Marteldecided to take their boat out to Holland's Cove for a swim and a barbecue. But it wasn't long before Wade noticed water coming into the boat.

'I knew there was something wrong'

"Just all of a sudden something happened," he said. "We got out to the entrance of Holland's Cove, and I knew there was something wrong. It was pretty near covering the engine."

Maymesaid the boaters were eventually able to make it safely to shore, albeit it slowly, and received an escort from the rescueboat. Martel and his wife were back safely on the shore about a half hour after he called 911.

"We had our life jackets on. I just tried to deal with it as calmly as I could," he said.

Mayme added that an off-duty volunteer firefighter who happened to be out on the water at the time of the incident boarded the Martel'sboat tohelpbail them out.

"They were taking on water. The boat was still under power. The bilge pump was working, but wasn't taking enough water out," he said.

He said the Charlottetown Fire Department typically receives about six to eight water rescue calls a summer.

• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |'A more friendly progression of aging': Unique seniors housing project underway in Cornwall
• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |Van engulfed in flames near Central Bedeque