Sea King Rescue: A Tale of Two Men 12 Years Later

By Jenn Gearey

The story of this rescue was published 12 years ago in CFB Shearwater base paper, February 10, 1994.

Brigadier-General Dave Martin  and Nova Scotia lobster fisherman Craig Tanner may not have too m uch in common but they do share a special moment in time with each other.

It was February 7th, 1994. ‘Major’ Martin was on a routine Sea King check flight. Tanner was out fishing aboard the 11.5-meter ‘Maykindo’ when the boat began taking on water. The fishing duo expected the engine to give out and leave them stranded 35 kilometres from shore. 

“That day I went in my brother’s place,” says Tanner. “I really wasn’t supposed to be there.”

THE RESCUE

When Tanner called for help,  a Sea King crewed by Captain Phil Redgrave, Major Ken Whitehead, Master Warrant Officer Mike Joyal, and Major Dave Martin, responded with action. 

When they arrived on scene , Major Martin had to hover over the vessel for half an hour before the crew could lower a hoist and lift Tanner from the deck. The size of the small boat and the antennas it had, made the rescue operation challenging.
“To pick the fellow off the boat was extremely difficult out there,” says Brig.-Gen Martin.  “When we actually got him into the sling and started to lift him off, their boat rolled and we pulled him off to the side.”

When Tanner’s feet touched the inside of the helicopter, he heaved a sigh of relief.

 “I was thankful they were there,” says Tanner.  “That was the best case scenario—that they were there to rescue me. The worse case scenario would have been if the boat would have sunk—nobody would have known because no one was around that day... I would definitely like to say ‘thank you’ for what they did, if it weren’t for them I might not be here.”

TEAM EFFORT

Brig.-Gen. Martin shares the praise with the rest of his crew that day.

“It’s not an individual effort, it’s a crew effort that takes cooperation and coordination,” says Brig.-Gen. Martin. “That kind of event isn’t unusual for us, it’s just another day doing our job.”

THE LAST 12 YEARS

In the last 12 years, Tanner says his greatest accomplishment is his family—wife Danielle, and two children, Jason 8 and Christine 4.   

“I think about that day quite a bit,” says Tanner. “It changed the way I felt about the water for a little while!”

For Brig.-Gen. Martin the last dozen years have been fulfilling . Since being the Deputy Commander at 406 Maritime Operational Training Squadron at the time of the rescue, he has been back and forth from Shearwater to Ottawa. Brig.-Gen. Martin was the Standards Team Lead at Maritime Air Group Headquarters, has held two positions in the office of the Chief of Defence Staff, was Commander of 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron, Project Director of Y2K ‘Operation Readiness’, a student at the Royal College of Defence Studies in the UK, and Wing Commander at 12 Wing Shearwater in Halifax, N.S. before being promoted to his current rank in 2004. 

“At the CDS’s office you get to see things happen CF-wide from the very top, and that’s quite a privilege,” says Brig.-Gen. Martin. “And being Wing Commander was a real highlight. Our folks at the tactical level are very operationally focussed they are tremendously talented, competent and very proud of their accomplishments.”

POSITIVE ROAD AHEAD

And now, Brig.-Gen. Martin gets yet another view of the Air Force, where he currently serves as Director General Air Force Development for the Chief of the Air Staff at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa.

“Working up here, you get a different perspective,” says Brig.-Gen. Martin. “I see the full development of the CF’s transformation…things are very different than they were 12 years ago! The Air Force is developing into a very modern, capable force as part of the CF’s transformation efforts. It’s very exciting and things are certainly very positive.”