PORT TOWNSEND — A boat that was submerged near Port Townsend Boat Haven during last week’s storms was pulled from the water Thursday while its owner made plans for its restoration to seaworthiness.
“Everything I own is down there,” said Lauren Dixon of Port Townsend as a crew from Vessel Assist Port Hadlock brought the Skybird, a 37-foot, 25-ton Buchan sailboat, into position for lifting out of the water.
Dixon, 30, was in the process of filming a documentary about self-discovery and a road to recovery, inspired by her divorce last year, and was planning a long solo sail when her boat was hit by the storm.
Among the lost items were $10,000 worth of camera and computer equipment, a guitar and hard drives that hold all of the footage she has shot so far, although this may be recoverable, as it was stored on water-resistant solid state equipment.
“The road to recovery seems to be a theme here,” Dixon said.
“I’m going to keep going on this, although now it will take a little longer.”
The craft was anchored outside of the breakwater when the storms began.
It lost its mooring and washed up on the rocks, where it was found by Vessel Assist crews in the middle of 68-knot winds Saturday.
Crews removed it from the rocks, where it would have been battered to pieces, and sank it for later retrieval, a common practice, according to Roger Slade, Vessel Assist Port Hadlock owner.
On Thursday, divers located the submerged craft and inserted inflatables underneath its hull.
After air was pumped in, the boat was towed into Port Townsend Boat Haven.
A crew of two divers and five people on the rescue craft were involved in the operation, Slade said.
Dixon was out of town during the storm, having agreed to deliver a boat to San Francisco.
She received several texts from a friend who was watching over the boat.
“The first one said, ‘I think you are OK,’ but the next one just said, ‘Sorry,’” she recalled.
Dixon’s presence back in Port Townsend, as well as the calming of the weather, resulted in scheduling the retrieval for Thursday, Slade said.
The Skybird was the most severe of the eight recovery cases Vessel Assist dealt with around the Boat Haven during the storm, Slade said.
The Skybird sustained holes on the port side, keel damage and a broken rudder and “is fixable, but it’s going to take some money,” Slade said.
The cost of pulling the boat out of the water will run between $10,000 and $12,000, according to Slade’s estimation.
Dixon said she has “some insurance,” but not enough to cover replacement costs.
While most of the electronic equipment is probably beyond repair, items like clothes and tools could be recoverable, she said.
At the time of her divorce, Dixon was living in Moscow, Idaho, where she sold her house and invested in the boat and all the necessary equipment for a long-distance voyage.
She planned to begin the journey in the summer but landed a maritime job in Port Townsend, which delayed her departure.
The boat was moored in the bay awaiting a space in the Boat Haven for the winter, which had already been arranged.
Dixon planned to sail to Alaska, then head to Ecuador and the Panama Canal and into the Pacific.
She planned it as a solo sail and said she was not intimidated by the task.
“The third time I sailed, I sailed it solo,” she said of the Skybird.
“Before I bought it, I’d never sailed in my life.”
On Thursday, Dixon began a crowdfunding campaign with a $40,000 goal. For information, go to www.gofundme.com/7w3dt82c.
By Thursday afternoon, the site had raised $500.
________
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
