Beachfront residents in Admirals Cove got a surprise Wednesday night when a vessel with Washington State Ferries appeared prominently in the water behind their homes to assist a boat that was adrift.
The Salish, one of two ferries that shuttle passengers between Coupeville and Port Townsend this time of year, was notified by the U.S. Coast Guard shortly after 9 p.m. that a boat was seen drifting in Admiralty Bay and getting close to shore.
The ferry left the Coupeville ferry landing and headed east along the shoreline instead of south across Admiralty Inlet before launching a rescue boat near Admirals Cove.
A marine rescue boat with Central Whidbey Fire & Rescue also arrived on the scene and a firefighter boarded the drifting boat to learn the skipper wasn’t feeling well and had fallen asleep.
The boat slipped its anch-or, causing it to drift, Central Whidbey Fire Chief Ed Hartin said.
“It was more of a wake-up call than a rescue,” said Brian Mannion, a spokesman with Washington State Ferries.
Ferries come to the aid of boaters in distress in Puget Sound and around the San Juan islands about once a month, said Ian Sterling, another ferries spokesman.
“It’s a pretty regular thing for us especially as we’re getting into boating season and especially in the San Juans,” he said. “We actually launch rescue boats quite often.”
“Our crews are all trained once a week, dropping those boats just for stuff like this,” Mannion said. “That’s one of the reasons it’s such a smooth operation.
“That comes with regular practice.”
The incident was a chance for firefighters with Central Whidbey Fire & Rescue to showcase training they received since the agency purchased a more dynamic marine rescue boat last year.
The 26-foot 2006 Safe Boat, with two new 225-horsepower outboard engines, was once a Coast Guard vessel.
It gives the Central Whid-bey agency marine rescue capabilities it didn’t have before, especially in the rough inlet waters.
Firefighters Greg Behan, Joe Hall and Kolton Kellison participated in the rescue Wednesday night with Kellison boarding the boat to wake up the skipper.
Kellison said the boat’s captain was surprised to see him.
“He wasn’t feeling well,” Hartin said. “He had gone to bed.”
Afterward, the boat owner headed across the inlet to anchor in Port Townsend for the evening.
