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VICTORIA – B.C. ferry crew members helped save a life Monday evening as they rescued a man from his storm-tossed, sinking pleasure boat.

Capt. Amanda Lauder with the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre says the boater issued a distress call at around 6:30 p.m. as his seven metre craft took on water in extremely rough seas just north of the Swartz Bay ferry terminal on Vancouver Island.

The ferry Coastal Celebration was approaching the terminal on its regular sailing from Tsawwassen and was able to respond, despite the strong winds and high waves.

Lauder says the ferry arrived before the coast guard and took the man aboard, although his sinking boat had to be abandoned.

He was treated in hospital but Lauder says there were no serious injuries.

Foul weather forced cancellation of numerous ferry sailings late Monday, and the B.C. Hydro website shows winds knocked out power to about 3,500 Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast customers at the height of the storm, with several hundred still in the dark early Tuesday.

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