A fisherman, recognized by St. John Ambulance for saving the life of a drowning fisherman, is no stranger to heroic acts.

John Pike was one of a number of people recognized in a ceremony at the Anglican Cathedral in St. John’s yesterday. He was awarded for his efforts to rescue a man who ended up in the water off Bellevue when his boat capsized during the food fishery last August.

Pike heard the man calling for help and braved heavy seas and strong winds to get to the scene of the sinking and made four attempts to get him, throwing a rope to the man struggling in the water, pulling him to safety.

Pike was honoured by the recognition but says it isn’t the first time he offered assistance to a fisherman in trouble. He and his 15-year-old son were checking their salmon gear back in 1986 when they spotted a young man caught up on a sunker, and his boat was drifting away.

“We just retrieved him off the sunker,” he said “His boat was after drifting away, so we picked up the boat and had him aboard and brought him back to an island where his family was.That was okay there’s always something exciting.”