• Home
  • :
  • :
  • Member Center
  • :
  • Make This Your Home Page
  • :
  • Special Offers
Build a new car
  Zip:
Visitor information
for select Northwest destinations.

Click here for details...
Comments | Recommended

Vintage sailing ship runs aground near Orcas Island

05:44 PM PDT on Monday, June 23, 2008

By ROB PIERCY / KING 5 News

Video: Tall ship runs aground in San Juans
Larger screen

ANACORTES, Wash. – A 130 foot sailing vessel ran "hard aground" in Wasp Passage this afternoon, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The boat, named "The Adventuress" reported no damage after running aground between Shaw and Orcas Islands.

36 passengers and crew were on board at the time. Nobody was hurt and there are no reports of damage to the hull.

The Coast Guard, private vessels and the Washington State ferry Sealth helped offload the passengers.

Tim Flanagan of the Nautical Web site Navagear.com says Wasp Passage can be tricky even for seasoned captains.

"It's kind of easy to think it's going to be as benign as it appears, when maybe three or four feet of the surface could be a nasty little surprise waiting for you," said Flanagan.

"The Adventuress" is operated by the Sound Experience, a nonprofit group which uses the vessel as a teaching tool for people to discover more about Puget Sound. It was commissioned in 95 years ago.

Advertisement

Popular Stories