Howe Sound Marine Rescue Society (HSMRS) is a non-profit volunteer organization whose purpose is to support Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCM-SAR), Station 4 Squamish.  HSMRS is responsible for fundraising to cover the capital, maintenance, and other costs associated with the response vessel and crew operations.

RCM-SAR unit members work very hard, volunteering their time to provide the community of Squamish and the Howe Sound area with 24-7 marine search and rescue services, boating safety information, and courtesy vessel exams.  Our Station maintains a 24 hour, 365-day schedule to have our vessel and crew available within 30 min of the request for assistance.  This includes a 15-minute transit from the volunteer’s location at the time of the call out to our Fast Rescue Craft.  Our goal is to ensure that our vessel, equipment, and training are to the highest standards to provide necessary, life-saving services to the community.

Station 4 Squamish currently has 38 active members. These dedicated volunteers give upwards of 200 hours a year each.  Crew members take approximately one full year to train to a basic rescue crew standard, and advanced crew and coxswains can take two to three years.

Mission statistics for 2023: 

Our response time has remained stable year over year, at 14 minutes off the dock.  In 2023, we responded to 14 rescue missions and have had 2 missions so far in 2024.  Lower incident numbers are a positive outcome as the primary objective of RCM-SAR is safety on the water, and so maintaining low accident/incident statistics is a welcome outcome.  Our rescue crews remain alert, highly trained, and ready to respond.  We have logged 223 hours of on-the-water training in 2023 and 316 hours of total activity time including vessel maintenance, community events, fundraising and training/curriculum development. Our individual members combined have logged over 1,000 hours of on-the-water training.

Each year Station 4 grows in its capabilities and increases its profile both in Squamish and in the province as a whole. Our station has received consistent, positive feedback on our professionalism and abilities from RCM-SAR Headquarters. In 2022, one of our crew members was awarded the RCM-SAR Volunteer of the Year Award and in 2023 one of our newer crew members was awarded the RCM-SAR New Member award. Each of these are only awarded to 1 member across the province.

Our station is proud to be a leader in diversity in the province with nearly 50% female crew members.

As Squamish continues to grow, the boating and watersport activity is increasing exponentially. We view our partnership with your organization as a strong signal of support for our station, our mission, and our community.