Vessel Terminated off Washington Coast, Aug. 28

USCG release – SEATTLE — Coast Guard and Seattle Fire Department personnel responded to and dewatered a vessel that was taking on water off Alki Beach, Sunday evening, Aug. 26. The 48-foot wooden yacht was later terminated due to unsafe operating conditions after the Coast Guard boat crew found multiple violations in a post-search-and-rescue boarding. Violations and unsafe conditions included loose and hanging wires in the bilge, open gas containers, unsecured deck plates, no pollution placard, no garbage placard and no state registration displayed on the outside of the vessel. Shortly before 8 p.m., Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound received notification from Seattle Police Department personnel that the yacht, with two people aboard, was taking on water half a mile off Alki Beach. Sector watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast, while a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station Seattle and a Seattle Fire Department crew aboard Fire Boat 2 responded. Additional fire department personnel arrived at Alki Beach to assist in locating the vessel from shore. Visibility was so limited, crews were unable to locate the vessel until the people aboard shot off a flare. Once on scene, Coast Guard and fire department crews were able to remove 100 gallons of water and the cause of the flooding appeared to be mechanical. The Coast Guard boat crew towed the vessel to the Elliot Bay Marina where they conducted the post-SAR boarding. Weather reported as overcast with rain, upwards of 17-mph winds and 5-miles of visibility.