7 rescued from yacht taking on water off Washington coast

Associated Press

SEATTLE – The Coast Guard says its crews rescued seven people over the weekend after a large yacht took on water and became disabled 25 miles off the Washington coast.

Workers at the Coast Guard Sector Columbia River command center received a radio call from the crew of the 143-foot vessel at 6 a.m. Saturday, The U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release Monday.

The crew said the yacht was taking on water because they couldn’t get the transom door at the back of the yacht to close. The yacht crew members also said they engaged the engine room fire suppression system after seeing smoke, which disabled the vessel.

An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Astoria, lifeboat crews from Station Grays Harbor and Station Quillayute River and a 210-foot medium endurance cutter were sent to the yacht for evacuations and towing.

No medical concerns and no pollution from the yacht were reported.

The cutter arrived that afternoon to tow the yacht toward the Strait of Juan De Fuca entrance where the tow would be passed to a commercial salvage company. That process took nearly 24 hours, according to the Coast Guard.

The commercial tug was scheduled to tow the yacht to a shipyard in Port Angeles for repairs.