Nothing lights a pathway quite as brightly as a crisis.
As the relationship with our neighbours to the south continues — subtly and otherwise — to fray under political strain, it is all the more heartening to see professionals from both nations serve a common purpose — and in a moment when they’re needed most.
When a dozen kayakers ran afoul of weather and wave conditions between tiny Patos and Sucia islands in the northern reaches of the U.S. San Juan Island chain, RCMP, Washington State Park and U.S. Coast Guard patrols all immediately switched gears from enforcement operations to lifesaving ones — locating the group and bringing two families (and apparently at least one kayaking guide) on board their vessels.
Thanks to these highly skilled seafaring professionals, short work was made of a potentially dangerous situation for the paddlers; all were transported back to their home port on Orcas Island, and while everyone was shaken up, none were injured.
On one hand, the swift cooperative rescue is the perhaps predictable result of a long-running joint cross-border crimefighting program — the Integrated Cross-Border Maritime Law Enforcement Operations endeavor we thankfully can just refer to as “Shiprider” — built to make it easier for officers from both sides of the international boundary line to slip over and help one another.
On the other, it’s a reminder that while big-picture international negotiations take place, the enduring reality on the ground — or on the sea, as it were — shows us that the best results are produced when we focus on our shared values, rather than places where we are at odds.
Those living in the Southern Gulf Islands — most acutely those here since time immemorial — know that the border running through the Salish Sea is even more arbitrary than most. Technically speaking, when they ran into trouble, those American kayakers were in U.S. waters but farther north than Fulford — and in a moment of need, that mattered even less than usual.
In late September, three days of events will mark a planned “sister” relationship between Salt Spring Island and the same island the kayakers launched from. The opportunity to renew and revitalize our connection to fellow islanders should be seized — and celebrated.