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We’re working on getting some answers about how exactly this happened yesterday, but in the meantime here’s a video that’s just painful to watch for any boat owner. The railroad bridge spans the Ship Canal and lies just downstream of the Hiram Chittenden Locks in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood.
4 comments
Vessel lost power and both current and wind pushed under bridge. as tide coming up, boat was being pushed under water. decision was made to sacrifice stick to save boat. (per vessel assist who i called today)
Thanks for the info.
I was coming through there about 10-15 minutes (guess) after he got stuck (I’m actually in the video – far left 26′ boat, black/white). The wind was ripping into the locks, and the current was flowing out. The tide was low and coming up. I could see how he’d be pushed under by the current if he lost power upstream of the bridge, and once stuck he was being pushed underwater by the combination of rising tide and force of the mast pushing down on the boat. Vessel Assist and Coast Guard were both on site and clearly made the decision to sacrifice the mast to save the boat. It was a sad sight, but less so knowing that everyone got off and there were no injuries (other than pride).
Thx for the detail. Our boating community looks out for one another!