Coast Guard and Navy Assist Grounded Vessel

The Coast Guard and Navy assisted the two-man crew of a 62-foot pleasure craft LEGACY III after it ran aground Monday night North of Port Ludlow near Mats Mats Bay. The LEGACY's crew used their cell phone to call Jefferson County Dispatch who then notified the Coast Guard at 7 p.m. of boats situation. An HH-65 Dolphin helicopter was dispatched from Port Angeles and the U.S.S. ZEPHYR, a 170-foot Navy Patrol boat, diverted from its course to assist. The U.S.S. ZEPHYR dispatched a small boat to bring the two men from the grounded boat onto the patrol boat. Then two Coast Guard personnel attached to the ZEPHYR were placed on the LEGACY III with two dewatering pumps. The Coast Guardsmen stayed onboard the vessel until a commercial salvage contractor out of Port Townsend arrived on scene. The two men were taken safely to Port Townsend. The men told personnel that the LEGACY III was being delivered to its new owner in Seattle, WA. from Esquimalt Harbor, Vancouver Island, B.C. when the pleasure craft began to run low on fuel. The Coast Guard encourages mariners to use a VHF radio on channel 16, instead of a cell phone to call for help. VHF radio allows the Coast Guard to establish a general location of the vessel in distress. Using a VHF radio also alerts other vessels in the area that may be able to render assistance. A cell phone can be a useful back up in the event the radio fails.