PORT ANGELES — A Coast Guard crew from the Port Angeles-homeported Adelie took part in the rescue of 10 children and two adults from a sailboat that went aground on Bird Rock north of Shaw Island on Sunday.
The cutter Adelie responded along with a 29-foot Response Boat Small II from Station Bellingham.
The rescued children and two adults were transported to Cornet Bay, Whidbey Island.
Three other adults stayed board the Cutty Sark, a 58-foot sailing vessel which was refloated at high tide Sunday night.
Chief Petty Officer David Mosley, a Coast Guard public affairs officer in Astoria, Ore., reported the sailboat was back in port Monday.
In a news release, Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound reported receiving a call via channel 16 marine VHF radio asking for assistance from the boat operators, stating they had run aground and were listing.
When crews arrived on scene with the Cutty Sark, they found the vessel listing approximately seven feet to its port side.
For the safety of those aboard, all the children, who ranged in age from 10 to 12 years old, were removed to the Adelie. All children and adults aboard the sailing vessel were wearing lifejackets.
“The quick notification using a marine VHF radio alerting us they were in trouble helped us get the proper response crews there to help,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Aaron McNeal, a Sector Puget Sound operations specialist and command duty officer.
“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.”
No injuries or pollution were reported in the grounding incident.
The Cutty Sark is a wooden-hulled classic ketch design ship operated out of Whidbey Island for educational purposes by nonprofit Aeolian Adventures Inc.
The weather was reported as light winds and one-foot waves with a water temperature of 52 degrees.
