Stehekin ferry bangs into shore; misses crowds

Operators of Lady of the Lake II – who apparently lost the ability to stop the 100-ton ferry docking in Stehekin Monday afternoon – were able to steer clear of Labor Day weekend crowds and boats without anyone getting hurt.

Witnesses saw both the pilot and co-pilot pulling back on the vessel’s throttle as it pulled toward the landing at about 12:30 p.m., but the boat didn’t respond, said Chelan County Sheriff’s Sgt. Rob Huddleston.

Instead of continuing toward the National Park Service’s new $1 million dock, operators steered the boat between the bulkhead and marina, crashing through a gangplank before continuing into the open water and coming to a stop, he said.

The ferry sideswiped two small boats and damaged part of the marina, but missed hordes of people who were at Stehekin Landing and the marina at the end of the summer’s last three-day weekend.

“Anytime you have that big of a vessel coming in, and having no control over the momentum, that in itself is a huge disaster waiting to happen,” Huddleston said.

He said he’ll continue to investigate the incident, but mechanical failure appears to be the cause of the near-disaster.

“I don’t know if he kept a calm head, or was just lucky,” he said of the pilot. “I was told the marina was full of boats and people walking around. That big of a boat could have taken out the docks, more boats and people with it.”

Huddleston said after the crash, a diver went under the boat to inspect the damage, and found only a few small scratches, with the propellers and rudders still in excellent condition.

He said there were people on Lady of the Lake II, and the Chelan Boat Co. sent other vessels to help bring cargo back to Chelan.