PORT TOWNSEND — A schooner that was pushed onto the breakwater rocks outside of the Boat Haven remained in place Monday, waiting for a salvage operation to begin.
The Phoenix, a gaff-rigged tops’l schooner 60 feet long and weighing 51 tons, was anchored outside the breakwater Friday when heavy winds and high tides pushed the boat onto the rock wall and pierced its hull, according to Capt. Roger Slade of Vessel Assist Port Hadlock.
“It isn’t going anywhere, and it isn’t getting any worse,” Slade said.
“It’s pinned to the rocks and is in relatively shallow water, but there isn’t much we can do right now.”
The owner of the boat, James Kruse of Orcas Island, did not answer calls for comment.
Slade said two things need to happen before the salvage: getting a crane in position and an improvement in the weather as the wind and the waves prevent an effective rescue.
This week targeted
He said he can’t predict the weather or when a crane will arrive, as his first effort to rent one fell through, but hopes it will be sometime this week.
Slade’s crew has already patched a hole on the starboard side of the hull, removed Kruse’s personal possessions and checked for any potentially dangerous materials, finding none.
The plan is to use a crane to lift the vessel off the rocks and stabilize it before hauling it around the breakwater and into the Boat Haven, Slade said.
During a recent boat recovery off Port Townsend, divers found it necessary to sink the vessel before using a flotation device to bring it into the Boat Haven, but Slade said he didn’t think that process would be used for the current operation.
The Phoenix is made of ferro-cement, a durable compound used in boatbuilding, but the force of its contact with the breakwater caused by high winds and tides tore a large hole in its port side, according to Slade.
Slade said he had no repair cost estimate for the vessel, but the crane rental can cost $10,000 or $15,000 a day.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
