A fisherman and his crew are lucky to be safe on shore again after a dramatic rescue was caught on tape off of Vancouver Island on Sunday afternoon.

Members of the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue, a volunteer organization, quickly responded to a mayday call from a sport-fishing pleasure craft taking on water in an area near Point No Point Resort off the coast of Sooke on southern Vancouver Island.

“We just drop everything, grab the radio and let coast guard know that we’re responding,” RCM-SAR Sooke Operations Manager, Jason van der Valk, told CTV Vancouver on Monday.

When the RCM-SAR arrived, a GoPro camera captured footage of the desperate fishing boat captain using a bucket to remove the encroaching water.

The incredible video shows the marine unit jump aboard the fishing vessel and start pouring water in the top of the boat’s stalled pump. In less than a minute, the pump starts whirring and the captain expresses his relief.

“I thought it was gone for sure,” the captain said.

Thankfully, the fishing vessel’s other four passengers had already been picked up by nearby boats before the RCM-SAR reached the scene.

“If those vessels hadn’t been there, there’s no doubt in my mind we would have been taking people out of the water,” van der Valk said.

Randy Strandt, a station leader with RCM-SAR in North Vancouver, told CTV Vancouver on Monday that the fishing boat rescue off Sooke was a typical event for the volunteer marine unit.

“That’s what we do every day, but it often doesn’t get caught on video,” he said.

During a tour of Burrard Inlet, Strandt and the North Vancouver RCM-SAR team show off their impressive tools, including an infrared camera that can spot a figure floating in the water. They also discuss the training component of the job, which is important when they’re called on to answer around 800 emergency calls a year across British Columbia waters.

“When you’re on call, it’s 24/7,” Strandt explained. “These guys are all volunteers. They have to be on this boat within 15 minutes the second they get the call.”

Strandt said he’s rewarded when he witnesses the reactions on the faces of the people his team helps.

“The look on their face when they know they’re no longer on their own, that’s worth it right there,” he said.

As for the fishing boat, the vessel was towed back to Vancouver Island with the caption on board where it was revealed that it had a six-foot crack in its hull. It’s still unclear what caused the damage to the boat’s hull.

Strandt said that, although he’s concerned about preserving the boats he encounters, he’s more concerned about the safety of the passengers.

The rescue team commended the captain of the fishing boat for making the decision to call for help right away, which they said could have made all of the difference.

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s David Molko