— from KOMO —
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard/Chief Petty Officer David Mosley
U.S. Coast Guard officials say their crews rescued 10 children and two adults from a sailboat that went aground Sunday near the San Juan Islands.
Coast Guard watchstanders received a radio “help call” on Sunday from the crew of a 58-foot sailing vessel. The callers said their boat ran around and was listing on Bird Rock north of Shaw Island, according to the Coast Guard.
Two Coast Guard crews responded to the call and soon found the distressed ship listing roughly seven feet to its port side, according to the Coast Guard. Ten kids, who range in age from 10- to 12-years old, were rescued from the listing ship and taken to Comet Bay in Whidbey Island.
“Once on scene, the Coast Guard crews were able to work with the boat captain to help ensure the safe transfer of the children aboard. With this many children, we really were lucky that no one was hurt because this could have been a really bad day at sea,” Petty Officer 1st Class Aaron McNeal said in a Sunday news release.
Nobody was injured in the rescue operation and three adults stayed aboard the Coast Guard’s Cutty Sark to wait for high tide in order to re-float their ship.
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It would be really nice if you would name the boat and the “educational” program responsible for the very preventable accident. Failure to even look at the charts on which these rocks are clearly marked and to pay attention in calm seas and little wind is gross incompetence. Parents have the right to know.