Police officers rescue man clinging to sailboat near Victoria

Two police officers are being hailed as heroes by their deputy chief after rescuing a man who had fallen into the ocean near Victoriaprior to a Remembrance Day ceremony on Saturday.

Consts. Brett Stewart and Eric Payne were doing traffic control for the ceremony when a call came in from a pedestrian who heard a man calling for help close to the Oak Bay Marina, shortly after 10 a.m. PT.

When Stewart and Payne responded, Payne spotted a man clinging to the side of a sailboat moored in the bay.

Stewart then flagged down a passing boater and made his way out to the man.

"With [the passerby's] help, we got over to the man and pulled him from the water to the safety of the boat," Stewart said.

Quick turnaround

According to Stewart, the man was in his late 50sand fell into the water by accident when climbing from his boat into a dinghy.

The man had a pre-existing injury that prevented him from climbing back into the boat on his own, and Stewart estimates he was in the water for at least 25 minutes.

But after receiving medical attention from ambulance and fire crews that attended, the man walked away no worse for wear and the officers went back to their duties.

"We were able to make it back to the Remembrance Day ceremony to pay our respects during the moment of silence [at 11]," Stewart said.

In a release, Deputy Chief Ray Bernoties praised the actions of the two constables.

"I couldn't be prouder of these officers," Bernoties said in the release.

"When describing the event to me, they were incredibly humble. In truth, they quite likely saved this man's life."