Local metal smith and diver Zackarya Leck was driving home on North Beach Road on Aug. 15 when he saw something that stopped him in his tracks: a 53-foot Grand Banks in distress.

The “Westwood” had hit a rock near Brandt’s Landing and was taking on water. The boat’s captain, Roger Schubert, had directed the vessel into more shallow water when Leck spotted it through a patch of trees near North Beach.

“As soon as I saw the boat, I knew something was up,” he said. “Instinctively, I kept driving down to North Beach to see what was going on.”

With his seven-year-old daughter in tow, Leck made it down to the beach, where family members of the Schuberts helped him call the boat’s captain on a cell phone.

The yacht’s hull was torn and so much water had come in that the bilge pumps stopped working. There were also 700 gallons of diesel on board that Schubert feared would spill into the sound.

After talking with him briefly to assess the situation, Leck drove home, grabbed his diving gear and materials, and headed back to North Beach. He swam out to the boat and patched its hull with underwater epoxy and a piece of plywood. Leck then went aboard to rewire the bilge pumps.

At this point, Vessel Assist had arrived from Friday Harbor, and put another pump onboard. As the “Westwood” once again became buoyant, it was towed into Brandt’s Landing, where it stayed for three nights before returning to the Anacortes Marina. It is currently hauled out and undergoing repairs. It will be back in the water in about two weeks.

Schubert and his wife Karen, who is related to the Brandt family on Orcas, live in Tuscon, Ariz. and spend their summers in the San Juans. They keep their boat in Anacortes, and had come to Orcas for a family dinner at Brandt’s Landing. Despite the startling events of the day, they were able to make it to the meal.

Schubert says Leck’s efforts prevented an ecological catastrophe, given how much diesel was in danger of spilling.

“If it wasn’t for the actions of the people of Orcas Island it could have been a real disaster,” he said. “Thank you Orcas for helping us out in our extreme time of need.”

Leck feels lucky he saw the boat when he did, and was able to lend his assistance. He is known on the island for his work as a sculptor, but Leck refers to diving as one of his callings. He finished his commercial dive training in 1998, and has been working underwater part-time ever since. He recently formed a partnership with another local diver, Captain Jim Cruse, and the two are doing business as the Salish Sea Divers.

“I love being in the water,” he said. “I find everything about it fulfilling.”

And what did Leck’s daughter Zora think about her dad’s heroic actions?

“As she was watching from the beach, she lost a tooth. That was the really big event of the day for her.”