by Jess Kruger

Kruger Escapes, Orcas

On July 18 we had a fantastic, intimate wedding aboard our boat Winkapew (Wing-KAH-Poe).

A lovely couple who had been together for thirty-five years tied the knot on the foredeck, while anchored in the North Cove of Jones Island.

After the ceremony, we set sail, tacking across San Juan Channel. As we began to come around the south side of Jones Island, we heard the USCG broadcast a pan-pan for a vessel in distress. They gave the location and coordinates, and we realized the troubled boat would shortly be coming into our view.

We altered course for a quicker approach, and made a plan for maneuvering close to the damaged boat and dousing sail. The 48-foot fishing boat was on the east side of Jones Island in Spring Pass. Close to shore, it was sinking rapidly. As we arrived on scene a dinghy with outboard arrived from Deer Harbor, speeding past us and approaching a man in a dinghy, which was floating close to the sinking boat. The arriving dinghy came alongside the other, and held him in place. As we approached, I called out to ask if anyone needed to be brought aboard our boat. The arriving men responded, “Yes!” and towed the man off the sinking boat to us.

We brought his dinghy alongside us, made it off, and began to speak with him. All this time, we were also in contact with the Coast Guard vis VHF radio, keeping them apprised of the situation. The man was out of Port Ludlow, and believed he had struck a rock on the south side of Jones Island. It took some time to convince the man to board our boat, as he also had his cat with him in the dinghy, and he was very worried about losing his cat. We eventually had both him and his cat aboard our boat.

Shortly after boarding our boat, Vessel Assist arrived on the scene. While we had the man alongside us in the dinghy, many other boats arrived to assist, including North Shore Charters, All Aboard Sailing and Ian Wareham aboard Double Double out of Westsound Marina.

When Vessel Assist arrived we communicated with them on the radio, and they came alongside us. The man boarded their boat, with cat, and we sent him off with a snack and a couple cans of cat food. All the while, a second Vessel Assist was alongside the sinking boat, securing the fuel tanks to prevent spillage. The boat had 900 gallons of diesel aboard. When we left, the decks and gunnels of the boat were below water.

We live aboard Winkapew and in the morning, we woke to find a spill response boat in Cayou Quay to assist with the sinking vessel, moored nearby. The Coast Guard and Washington Department of Ecology personnel responded to the pollution.

Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound incident management division personnel opened the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and contracted Global Diving and Salvage to mitigate any further pollution. The vessel reportedly had up to 900 gallons of diesel fuel aboard, 700 gallons were recovered from the vessel. Other agencies aiding in pollution response include Island Oil Spill Association and Vessel Assist.

Vessel Assist sealed the vessel’s hull and transported it to Deer Harbor Marina where Global Diving and Salvage will conduct de-fueling operations.