UPDATE — Sunken yacht being raised, brought to Sequim Bay [ ** Photo Gallery ** ]
Published 12:01 am Saturday, October 18, 2014
SEQUIM — A wooden yacht that sank off Dungeness Spit on Friday was being towed to John Wayne Marina on Saturday, a Coast Guard official said.
Two unidentified people were rescued Friday morning when the 67-foot Lady A sank in about 180 feet of water northeast of the spit.
“The Vessel Assist does have the Lady A in tow right now,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Katelyn Shearer, a spokeswoman for Coast Guard District 13 in Seattle, at about noon Saturday.
“Instead of towing it to anchor, as originally planned, they’re actually going to tow it John Wayne Marina today.”
The contractor, working in conjunction with pollution responders, planned to plug the vessel’s fuel vents near the marina, then devise a plan to tow the yacht to Port Angeles, Shearer said.
No sheen was detected Friday or Saturday, she added.
Shearer said the timing of the salvage would depend on the tides.
She said she did not know the names of the people rescued from the Lady A.
The vessel is owned by Judson “Jud” Linnabary, owner and president of Platypus Marine Inc. of Port Angeles, reported PDN maritime columnist David G. Sellars.
Port Angeles Boat Haven Harbormaster Chuck Faires confirmed that Linnabary is the owner of the yacht.
Linnabary could not be reached for comment at Platypus Marine.
A passing ship’s crew and the Coast Guard both sent boats to help the pair aboard the yacht, who radioed that they were abandoning it.
Neither was injured, the Coast Guard reported.
The mariners radioed that the Lady A taking on water in a distress call at 7:31 a.m. A response boat and helicopter were launched from the Port Angeles station on Ediz Hook and brought the pair to Port Angeles in the response boat.
“Their hull was breached at the bottom line, but I’m not sure of actual event that led to that,” Shearer said Friday.
The crew of Tokyo Express, a 664-foot container ship transiting the area, also launched a small boat crew to assist.
The mariners were rescued at about 8:10 a.m., and the yacht sank about 10 to 15 minutes later, Shearer said.
Pollution responders from Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound’s incident management division were working with the owner of the vessel and the state Department of Ecology on Friday to determine if the Lady A can be salvaged, the Coast Guard said.
The Tokyo Express’ boat crew returned to the container ship, which resumed its course to Tacoma at about 8:35 a.m. The ship arrived in Tacoma early Friday afternoon.
