The captain of a boat once moored on the city’s waterfront has been recognized by the B.C. and Yukon Lifesaving Society.
The society recently presented David Cobb with a silver medal for merit to acknowledge meritorious service in saving lives. He was among the people recognized with rescue and honour awards at a ceremony on march 29 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.
According to the society, Cobb, a former Irish Army Ranger, has spent many nights on the water on his live-aboard fishing boat, the historic Chief Skugaid, an 86 foot, two-masted halibut schooner that was first put into service in May 1913.
“Only three days after its 100th birthday, the Chief served in the rescue of a drowning man from the icy waters of the Fraser River,” stated the society’s website. “In the early hours of a May morning, while moored at the New Westminster dock at the foot of Sixth Street, Skipper Cobb heard a faint cry for help that he first thought was in his dreams. He jumped out of bed, put on his overalls and hit the main deck to follow the sound. He soon noticed a person in the water clinging onto one of the mooring lines. The skipper later described what he saw as a body that looked like it was ‘streaming like a piece of seaweed’ from the line. Cobb threw the man a life ring and with a five foot boat hook, started working the victim towards a ladder.”
According to the society, the man was pale, suffering from hypothermia and was in an obvious state of panic. Because the tide was low and the current was strong, Cobb knew he had to be careful helping the victim to safety to avoid ending up in the river himself.
A passerby witnessed the rescue and called 911, and police arrived at the scene.
“The police zodiac boat then arrived on scene to assist in bringing the victim to safety. Being that Skipper Cobb was the only person around that morning, and considering the cold and fast-flowing water at that time of year, it is certain that the victim would not have made it out of the frigid water without his help,” stated the society’s website. “We can’t think of a better way to recognize Chief Skugaid’s 100 years of service on the water than to present her Skipper, David Cobb, with a Silver Medal for Merit for saving a life that day on the Fraser River.”
Cobb left his mooring spot in front of Fraser River Discovery Centre last August, after the City of New Westminster received a Supreme Court order requiring him to move on. He had arrived on the waterfront in June 2011 and viewed it as a “common law tie up area”, while the city viewed it as trespassing.
