'Severely hypothermic' boater rescued after vessel capsizes off Vancouver Island

The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria dispatched the coast guard ship Cape Cockburn and fast-response vessel French Creek 1 to the scene where the screams were heard. (Canadian Coast Guard)

A boater was rescued on Monday evening after spending three hours in the frigid waters off Vancouver Island.

The Canadian Coast Guard says a woman and her daughter were kayaking in Nanoose Bay when they heard screaming and called 911.

The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria dispatched the coast guard ship Cape Cockburn and a fast-response vessel to the scene where the screams were heard.

The agency also issued a mayday call to so-called "vessels of opportunity," alerting civilian watercraft to respond to the area if available.

The Empress III, a local water taxi, was first on scene and located the victim clinging to the side of his overturned skiff, a coast guard spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Rescuers aboard the fast-response vessel French Creek 1 recovered the man from the water and provided immediate first-aid treatment.

"The person was wearing a life jacket but had been in the water for approximately three hours and was severely hypothermic," according to the statement.

The man was transported to shore at Schooner Cove, where he was handed over to paramedics.

B.C. Emergency Health Services says one ambulance was dispatched to the marina in the 3500 block of Dolphin Drive shortly after 7:20 p.m.

"Paramedics provided emergency medical treatment to one patient who was transported to hospital," the agency said in an email but did not provide information about the patient's condition while he was in their care.

The overturned vessel was also recovered from the water and returned to shore, the coast guard said.