The Shawna Lea spent much of July 12 high and dry on the rocks in Circle Bay just offshore Woronkofski Island. After the boat was refloated at high tide and brought to town, the only reported damage was a bent prop.
"It could have been a whole lot worse," Scott Brown said of running his 27-foot Tollycraft on to a rock in Circle Bay on the south side of Woronkofski Island last week.
No one was hurt, the boat didn't take on water, and the only damage was a bent prop, Brown said July 12, the day after the mishap.
Brown was piloting the boat, the Shawna Lea, named for his wife, around the southwest corner of Hat Island in the bay, "not paying attention to the depth," he said.
It was about 10 a.m. July 11, soon after high tide. "The tide had pushed me in toward the island," he said, when he hit a rock. The boat pinwheeled around and its keel ended up on the rock, Brown explained.
"It was scary at first," with six people on board, including Brown. He moved everyone to the front of the boat in an attempt to shift the load, as he was carrying about 150 gallons of diesel in the fuel tank in the rear of the boat.
The Shawna Lea was stuck on the rock, and Brown was worried what might happen as the tide went out.
"I called the Wrangell harbormaster for assistance," figuring he needed to get everyone off the boat before it could tip over. "I told them I needed immediate help."
Within 15 minutes, three boats and a plane were at the scene.
A couple of crab boats were nearby, monitoring Channel 16, and quickly responded to Circle Bay, said Tim Buness, chief of the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department and Wrangell Search and Rescue.
The 38-foot high-speed catamaran Island Cat, operated by Zach Taylor of Muddy Water Adventures, zipped out of the Wrangell downtown harbor and pulled near the Shawna Lea.
"Eric Gile was the first to show up, he was pulling (crab) pots around the corner. Mike Buness was heading south when he heard the call and he turned around and was the second boat to arrive," Brown said. Initially, his passengers were transferred to Gile's boat and then everyone got aboard Zach Taylor's boat for the ride to Shoemaker Harbor.
Muddy Water is a member of Wrangell Search and Rescue.
Brown returned to his boat later that day, thanks to a ride from Bernie Massin, and got it off the rock at high tide and motored into town using only his 9.9-horsepower kicker. It took about three hours to travel the five miles to reach Shoemaker Bay.
He pulled the boat from the water the next day to inspect the bottom and get the prop repaired.
"It was an interesting experience," Brown said, thanking everyone for their help after his distress call. "The response time was excellent."
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