Man who narrowly missed a deadly trip with Jamie’s Whaling Station in 1998 speaks out
Posted October 26, 2015 12:50 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – As investigators try to find out what went wrong, causing that whale watching boat to sink off Tofino, leaving five people dead, a man who once brought concerns to police following a similarly fatal incident with this company 17 years ago is speaking out.
Dave Duncan had just finished a fruitless whale watching trip with Jamie’s Whaling Station back in 1998.
As per the company’s policy of a guaranteed whale sighting, he was offered another chance to head out on the next sailing.
He turned that down — and would later express his concerns to police after that trip became fatal, with the death of the guide and a tourist.
“Definitely unnecessary risks,” says Duncan. “There was no need to go in between the reefs like that where the water was so dangerously turbulent.”
The Pacific Whale Watch Association, of which Jamie’s Whaling Station is not a member, says no companies on the West Coast apart from that operation have had fatal accidents in the last 25 years.
“You get that false sense of security when you’re with a professional company that’s been doing this for years,” says Duncan. “In hindsight, learning that the boat capsized on very next sailing, that was very concerning. But, at the time, we felt very secure.”
In a statement to Tofino RCMP after that accident, Duncan expressed concerns about the boat going airborne multiple times, the speed at which the vessel went out into the open ocean, and the fact the boat appeared to be weighted on the port side throughout the voyage.
It is worth noting the accident in 1998 involved a smaller, more exposed vessel than that involved in this weekend’s tragedy.
