Coast guard sending 2 new lifeboats to B.C. despite 'desperate need' in N.S.

A decorated 28-year veteran of the Canadian Coast Guard is speaking out on the "desperate need" for a new lifeboat at the search and rescue station where he serves at Cape Sable Island, N.S.

Coast guard sailor Eric Nickerson said the lifeboats that currently service the Clark's Harbour station are in rough shape. Right now, two are in dry dock for refits and a temporary replacement will soon be undergoing a refit, as well.

"That gives a pretty good perspective on the condition of our vessels," he said.

"There's no doubt, it's no secret they are getting used up. The condition over 20 years is definitely taking its toll."

Better boats headed West

Nickerson and fishermen in the area want the coast guard to send one of two new bay-class vessels sitting at its base in Dartmouth. They are awaiting shipment to British Columbia where they will go into service in 2019.

"My biggest concern would be why are we shipping those boats out West while we are in desperate need, desperate need?" said Nickerson.

Boats 'aren't safe,' says fisherman

Clark's Harbour serves as the rescue station for one of Canada's largest, most lucrative and gruelling fisheries — the winter lobster season in southwestern Nova Scotia.

About 5,000 captains and crew head out to sea in late November and early December.

With the season opening in just a few weeks, lobster fisherman Kevin Ross said something needs to be done.

"The coast guard — I know I'm probably going to get in trouble for this — are sending these men out to save us, us fishermen, in these boats that aren't safe," said Ross, who is also president of the Brazil Rock fishermen's association.

He said even a temporary arrangement makes sense.

"We're not asking to have one of these new boats here permanently," he said. "We're just asking to borrow one for the opening of the lobster season for maybe a month."

Daring rescue

Nickerson said the station responds to about 120 search and rescue calls a year, making it one of the busiest in Canada.

One of those calls, in November 2016, earned Nickerson the Nova Scotia Medal of Bravery after he jumped into heaving seas to rescue a sailor from a sinking sailboat.

The rescue took place about 80 kilometres offshore in 10-metre seas whipped up by 50- to 60-knot winds.

It was too dangerous for a hovering Cormorant helicopter to attempt a rescue so Nickerson jumped from the rolling deck of his coast guard boat onto the sailboat and put the petrified sailor into a survival suit.

That's when a wave knocked the sailor into the water. Nickerson jumped in and saved him.

The lifeboat Nickerson used that day, CCGS Spray, is one of the boats now undergoing a refit.

New boat coming, but not this year

The Liberal MP for St. Margarets-South Shore — who once rose in Parliament to recognize the bravery of Nickerson and his crew mate, Trevor Munroe — told CBC News in a statement that she's working to find a solution.

"I am aware of the situation with the need for a newer vessel, and I have personally met with the minister of fisheries regarding this concern," said Bernadette Jordan.

In a statement to CBC News, the coast guard said a new bay-class search and rescue lifeboat will be sent to Clark's Harbour. 

But not this year.

"For the opening of the lobster season, in addition to the existing lifeboat at the Clark's Harbour station, coast guard and its [search and rescue] partners deploy additional assets (including seasonal inshore rescue boat service and increased on-water surveillance) and heightened operational readiness," the agency said.

'Guardian angel' in time of need 

The coast guard said vessel deployment is based on operational requirements, condition of the station's existing vessel, timing for the opening of new lifeboat stations, marine traffic and proximity to other search and rescue assets.

"They're not coming for us, most generally, on a fine day. They're coming for us when it's bad," he said.  

"When you see them coming — believe me, I've been towed before — it's like a guardian angel coming to look after you, when you see those lights at night."