One of Whidbey Island’s most famous boats made headlines Sunday when it ran aground in the San Juan islands with a troop of Coupeville Boys Scouts aboard.
The Cutty Sark, a 58-foot, wooden-hulled ketch often seen — and admired — in Penn Cove, ran aground on “Bird Rock” north of Shaw Island, according to John Stone, Coupeville resident and captain of the boat.
The incident had a relatively happy ending, which Stone credits to the professionalism of the Coast Guard, a boat-towing company and the adult leaders of Troop 4058. Nobody was injured, the boat is in good shape and the kids have a great story to tell.
“The only damage was to the fresh-water pump,” he said. “And my pride.”
Through the nonprofit Aeolian Adventures, Stone takes students on free educational cruises in the San Juan Islands each summer. On Sunday, the group was headed back to dry land when the unexpected happened.
Stone explained that the boat was under power in the channel when it struck rock with a sudden jolt. He first checked to make sure everyone was OK and then called the Coast Guard for help. The first Coast Guard boat, a 29-foot vessel out of Bellingham, was there within 10 minutes, he said.
The Coast Guard crew was impressed that everyone aboard was wearing lifejackets, Stone added.
Chief Warrant Officer Chuck Chavtur, commanding officer of the Coast Guard station in Bellingham, said the Cutty Sark was listing pretty badly when the crew members arrived, so responders moved as quickly as they could to get the 10 children off the boat; two adult leaders went with them as well while two stayed with Stone.
The 87-foot Coast Guard cutter Adelie happened to be in the area, so the boys got to go aboard the big boat. Stone said they seemed especially excited about watching the movie “Shrek 2” on the boat.
The Coast Guard was nice enough to bring the kids to Cornet Bay on North Whidbey for happy reunions with their families.
“It’s kind of nice for us to be able to get out and help people,” Chavtur said.
Stone and two Boy Scout leaders ended up staying on the Cutty Sark for more than 10 hours.
The grounding occurred at the stroke of high tide so they had to wait for the next tide to get free. During that time the boat listed enough that it took on water, submerging the engine room and ruining the freshwater pump.
Chavtur said it’s pretty common for boats to run aground. The Coast Guard receives calls of boats aground about once a week in the San Juans alone. He said his crews don’t usually get involved unless people or the environment are at risk.
