Lebel marvelled at his colleagues’ stamina as they fought to find their footing. “The sailboat was moving in all directions, there were sails and a large mast moving around very fast and unpredictably,” he wrote. He praised Nisbet’s prolonged effort to pull Ferland onto the Makena after repeated false starts. “I cannot imagine the physical endurance and strength it took for Sgt. Nisbet to carry out this task for one hour and a half.” It took 40 minutes to get just the first evacuee up into the Cormorant and another 20 for the second.

With two Makena crew still on the boat, darkness had fallen and the Cormorant faced a new challenge. They were getting low on fuel. “At the rate we were going, there was a very real chance we would have to leave someone behind,” Lebel wrote. Van Wagoner tells Maclean’s the crew was constantly monitoring what they call “Bingo” time—how long they could stay in the air with remaining fuel before fleeing for a safe landing. A night’s stay on Sable Island, the narrow strip of land about 300 km southeast of Halifax with two helipads and basic facilities, was a possibility.

Very gripping story. It's a long read but an interesting one.