PORT TOWNSEND — A man and his dog were safely brought to shore in a multi-agency rescue effort in rough weather conditions.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) received a call Wednesday morning from a concerned passerby on land who reported a distressed man on a sailboat not far from shore, patrol sergeant Brett Anglin said.
The 29-year-old Port Townsend man who has not been identified asked the passerby to call for help, Anglin said. The reporting party was on the Larry Scott Trail.
“The subject at the time was unable to get off his boat, which was described as a red sloop, about 26 foot in length,” Anglin said.
JCSO patrol deputies Jon Stuart, Ash Moore and Brian Peterson were deployed to locate the boat and assist the Coast Guard, said Port Townsend Police Officer James Berteig, who was also deployed to the scene.
“The boat looked like it was pushed into shore against some pretty large rocks,” Berteig said. “It started taking on water.”
Berteig said he thought it might have been the worst weather he has seen in his several years in Port Townsend.
“We got the winds about 30 miles an hour,” he said. “So the waves were definitely crashing in over top of it as it was kind of tilted on its side. The waves were pretty good.”
Anglin said JCSO was not able to deploy its boats due to the weather conditions and the closeness of the shore.
“It was also advised that the male on board wanted to actually wait for the Coast Guard and that he had no phone,” Anglin said.
The boat was offshore near the Port Townsend paper mill, Coast Guard spokesperson Kip Wadlow said.
Dispatch made contact with the Puget Sound Sector of the Coast Guard about 7 a.m., Wadlow said.
“After that, Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound directed the launch of an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles,” Wadlow said.
The helicopter arrived shortly after 9 a.m.
“Once we got on scene, we saw the vessel run aground near the rocks,” said rescue swimmer Petty Officer Austin Welter. “It was pretty choppy, pretty windy. Wind gusts were about 40 knots.”
Once on the ground, Welter said he contacted local first responders, then contacted the man on the boat. He entered the water, helped the dog off the boat, get into the water and onto the shore, then did the same for the man.
“Once we got him (the man) off, the boat kind of lifted up and started pushing more towards the shore, which was kind of intimidating,” Welter said. “I think their weight was holding the boat down, still on the ground, then it lifted up and started pushing towards us a little bit as I was helping him get back onto shore.”
Welter said the man seemed a little panicked after the ordeal and happy to be back on land.
A video hosted on JCSO’s Facebook page shows a scene from the rescue.
The man was seen by a medic, who later gave him a courtesy ride, Berteig said. The dog, a pitbull, was seen onsite by a vet and seemed to be healthy, he added.
Wadlow said since the sailboat didn’t present any pollution concerns, its removal is the responsibility of the owner.
“The key thing from the Coast Guard’s standpoint is that this was a team effort,” Wadlow said. “We have routinely trained with our local emergency response partners to protect the safety of life at sea.”
Heavy weather is expected to move through the region this week.
“Check the weather and make good decisions,” Wadlow said. “If you don’t have to be out when the weather is bad, please postpone your journey, stay ashore and wait till you get a better weather window to be out on the water.”
Finding safe harbor and anchoring before a storm is advised, Anglin said, not only for the safety of sailors, but also for the safety of first responders and for salvaging boats.
“It appears to be fairly benign from camera angles,” Anglin said. “But those who are well-versed in marine environments know that at any moment that boat can rock against the rocks and present a very dangerous scene for first responders and anyone needing to enter the water. Just getting onto the shore with waves and rocks is dangerous enough. Adding in a 26-foot sailboat just compounds the situation exponentially.”
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com.
