SEQUIM — A wooden yacht that sank off Dungeness Spit on Friday apparently had a failure of 27 wooden ribs in its hull that caused it to take on water.
The Lady A lost its cabin and superstructure above the deck and is likely a complete loss, said the Vessel Assist contractor who worked Sunday to make the remains seaworthy to tow from Sequim’s John Wayne Marina to Port Angeles’ Boat Haven marina.
Bart Buntin, captain of the Timber Wolf, a Vessel Assist boat from Port Hadlock and a master diver, said the boat had a failure of 27 ribs, three planks wide, while underway Friday.
Buntin said he did not know why the wooden hull failed but said that such failures are not uncommon among wooden boats.
When the yacht sank, it stayed just near the surface, drifted and was recovered Saturday in 380 feet of water, he said.
“It broke into two pieces,” he said, explaining that the top portion of the boat had separated from hull.
Part of the boat’s superstructure was recovered, and another part was still in the Strait of Juan de Fuca marked by an attached orange life raft, he said.
The Coast Guard broadcast warnings on marine radio channels for ships to be on the lookout for the wreckage.
Buntin said he did not think the Lady A could be restored.
The vessel is owned by Judson “Jud” Linnabary, owner and president of Platypus Marine Inc., a full-service boat repair business on the Port Angeles waterfront.
Linnabary and an unidentified passenger radioed about 7:30 a.m. Friday that their vessel was taking on water and that they were planning to board a life raft.
The Port Angeles Coast Guard station launched a response boat and a helicopter to the scene just northeast of the tip of the Dungeness Spit north of Sequim.
Almost simultaneously, a passing container ship launched its own rescue boat to help the stricken mariners.
The two were taken to the Port Angeles station by the Coast Guard boat and were unhurt.
On Sunday morning, Buntin and his crew from the Timber Wolf plus a crew from the Lobos Del Mar, a second Vessel Assist boat, made the Lady A seaworthy enough to be towed to Port Angeles.
The Coast Guard approved a plan Sunday to move the Lady A, and the boat was expected to arrive in Port Angeles late Sunday afternoon, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Katelyn Shearer, a spokeswoman for Coast Guard District 13 in Seattle
Coast Guard officials have said the yacht sank with about 700 gallons of diesel fuel on board.
There were no leaks from the boat, Buntin reported.
“Not a drop of oil or fuel,” he said Sunday.
Linnabary was skippering the vessel at the time it sank, with an experienced crew member on board, according to those helping at John Wayne Marina on Sunday.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
