The crew of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 flagship submarine is feeling the loss of one of their own, who died following a recreational scuba-diving incident.
Chief Petty Officer 1st class Richard Boileau, 47, who had gone diving with two friends in the Saanich Inlet near Bamberton on Saturday, is being remembered as an integral part of a very close 48-member team of submariners serving on HMCS Victoria.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e coping. You have to understand that weB次元官网网址檙e a very small crew, tightly knit, and therefore the loss of any of our crew members is very noticeable,B次元官网网址� said Cmdr. Christopher Ellis, VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 commanding officer.
Ellis went with a military padre to BoileauB次元官网网址檚 Esquimalt home on Saturday to deliver the sad news to his wife, Brenda Lyall. They had been married for 26 years.
As word spread about the tragedy, condolences have poured in from beyond submariner circles.
B次元官网网址淗e had a far-reaching influence and was well-regarded,B次元官网网址� Ellis said of his coxswain, who started in the military as a cook 28 years ago. Boileau joined HMCS Victoria last November.
B次元官网网址淚t was not your typical job B次元官网网址� that appealed to him,B次元官网网址� Lyall said of her husbandB次元官网网址檚 decision to join the submarine program. B次元官网网址淗e was not a sidelines kind of guy.B次元官网网址�
The avid diver leaves a grown son and daughter, two grandsons and a large extended family in Quebec.
The B.C. Coroners Service is working to determine the cause of death. Police do not suspect foul play.
Two of BoileauB次元官网网址檚 friends, who were diving with him at the time, were taken to a decompression chamber after the dive Saturday afternoon, prompting coroner officials to consider the possibility that Boileau died from an air embolism (air bubbles in the blood stream).
B次元官网网址淲hat happens is, he gets into trouble while heB次元官网网址檚 on the dive, and as a result of getting into trouble, he ends up maybe rising too fast,B次元官网网址� said Barb McLintock, spokesperson for the B.C. Coroners Service. B次元官网网址淏ut we still need to know what was going on that caused the problem in the first place.B次元官网网址�
BoileauB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渃omplexB次元官网网址� scuba-diving gear will be examined by Canadian Coast Guard dive experts on the Lower Mainland, given that B次元官网网址渢here is always the possibility of a mechanical problem,B次元官网网址� McLintock said.
HMCS VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 sailing schedule has not been impacted by the tragedy, but there are several important milestones the boat must still achieve before it achieves .
Starting next week, the coxswain of Halifax-based HMCS Corner Brook will fill in on Victoria for two months, until the position can be permanently filled. The boat is scheduled to sail for Hawaiian waters in mid-June, where it will take part in the multinational biennial Rim of the Pacific Exercise.
Meanwhile, Boileau will be sorely missed, given his role on board as the senior sailor who served as a vital link between the crew and the command team.
B次元官网网址淲e're going to continue to feel his presence within the submarine community, because he very much had a positive influence through his mentorship of the crew and other submarine trainees," Ellis said.
emccracken@vicnews.com
Tragic numbers:
B次元官网网址� There have been 17 scuba-diving deaths in B.C. in the past five years, most of them off the coast of Vancouver Island, according to the B.C. Coroners Service. Causes of death range from diver error to faulty equipment to medical problems.
