Update: A small sailboat ran aground on the rocks north of Golden Gardens this evening, just down from NW Esplanade St.
Fortunately, the man on the boat was not injured. The Coast Guard told him to wait until high tide later tonight before they plan to pull the sailboat off the rocks. “It’s disheartening,” the man said, reluctantly following the Coast Guard’s orders to abandon the boat and wait on the rocks.
A neighbor who saw the boat in trouble called the Coast Guard.
Update: We received an email this morning from Mrs. Graham who says,
His name was Scotty; his boat was (a beautiful 1952 Danish wood lapstrake called The Abigail) and unharmed. He ended up beached due to a freak combination of loss of power and a hard wind. Miraculously he avoided hitting the rocks and was placed quite elegantly on the shore. His plan was to pull himself off the beach utilizing his very heavy anchor at high tide (4:00 am this morning). It must have worked as my husband walked down this morning to see if we would need to bring him coffee and Pouff!!! he was gone. A great guy; a happy outcome.
(Thanks Silver for the tip and the updates in the forum!)
![](https://www.myballard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024-My-Ballard-Tile-Ad-Troop-100.png")
if i owned a sail boat, it would take me all of 2 hours to accomplish this
Yeah. I'd be all “Pull the THING! NO – the OTHER THING! And tie the whosits down! Quick! What's that grinding noise???”
I'll leave it to those who grew up on the water.
Nice pics. If you're going to run aground, there are worse places to do it. ;-)
If I was on there, I would sing and do my hit song “The Stroke”
BTW, I am coming to the EQC, get your tix!!!
~Billy
I am curious if the boat was under sail or using the motor. When using the motor you steer it like a motor boat or a big 70's station wagon. All the sails look stowed, whether they were put away after the incident or were never out I am curious.
motorrad,
They have the sails under covers so they were under power, what probably happened is their motor died and they drifted onto the rocks.
Hed had engine problems., and could not save it. He is going to stay with the boat all night till the tide changes at 4am.
SAIL FAIL
That sucks. Hope there isn't too much damage to the boat.
This is why you don't leave your boom cover on while underway, and why you don't rely on your engine. In fact, just take the engine out. It's a sailboat! My 30-footer has no engine and I sail all over the place and get out multiple times each week. Anybody who wants to learn engineless sailing skills is free to come join me any time at Shilshole. Just bring beer!
Jeez, give the guy a break. Having a small outboard is not a sin, in fact it can make sailing more enjoyable, especially to those with very limited time. Maybe he has to head through the locks like many do.
I have been humbled by the sea way too many times to brag about lack of incidents. Whatever works to get you home safely. In this case, probably a better tuned outboard and a better prepared cockpit. I have seen plenty of 'engine'-less boats getting getting bailed out by 'engine'-ed boats too.
Show two people a picture of a sailboat on the rocks in medium to light air. One person says “Why wasn't his main ready to hoist?” and the other says “Better get that outboard looked at.” I have a feeling Slocum, Cook, and Vancouver might agree with the first.
The Skipper and Gilligan come to mind!
Bob–Can you show me how you sail your boat in and out of the Locks? I'll most definitely bring the beer!