The San Juan Islands are a cruising paradise. Not the tropical kind, of course, but a paradise nonetheless; paradise with foulweather gear, let’s say. But our little archipelago is not without its dangers. By far the most frequent mishaps are simple groundings, which range in severity from mildly embarrassing to life-threatening. This video, taken on Sunday, illustrates a grounding with some real danger involved.

I’m positive the crew of the sailboat felt there was a great deal of danger involved! Watching the video, we can only imagine what awful noises the boat and rig generated each time the hull got shoved up against those rocks.

It must have been terrifying. But the flip side is this: It’s all in a day’s work for the Coast Guard. This was perhaps the most frightening day of somebody’s life, but read the “just-the-facts-ma’am” USCG press release:

SEATTLE – The Coast Guard assisted four people on a sailing vessel that ran aground at the south end of Lopez Island, Wash., today.

Coast Guard Group Port Angeles received a call at approximately 5:10 p.m. from the 36-foot sailing vessel, Shekinech, that they had run aground and needed assistance.

A Coast Guard HH-65C Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles and a Coast Guard 33-foot small response boat crew from Coast Guard Station Bellingham were launched to assist.

Upon arrival the 33-foot small response boat crew pulled the Shekinech off of the rocks while the helicopter hovered in case of further complications.

A commercial assistance vessel arrived at the scene and established a tow to Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island, Wash.

No injuries were reported.

Just routine, see? “A commercial assistance vessel arrived at the scene and established a tow to Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island.” Hmmm. I wonder if that was my good friends John and Trish Aydelotte or one of the other skippers over at Marine Services & Assist in Cornet Bay. I’ve only spoken with them on the telephone, mind you, but I call them “my good friends” anyway, in anticipation of the day I need their services! Their son, John Jr., maintains a blog about their adventures.

Nope, I was wrong! I spoke with Captain “Big John” Aydelotte Sr., and he indicated his colleague Richard Rodriguez of Vessel Assist San Juans, aboard his boat Remedy, towed the Shekinech to Oak Harbor. Captain Rodriguez maintains a blog of his own, which includes a discussion of this incident. Another “good friend” to know, it appears!

Captain Aydelotte gave me a synopsis of the incident, and “as usual,” he said, “it’s never just one thing.” A bit of sloppy seamanship combines with a bit of bad luck and a lack of preparation in some area, followed by another less-than-optimal decision, and all of a sudden things have gone very wrong, very quickly. If we’ve been paying attention at all, we’ve heard this story before.

In this case, it appears that the Shekinech was motoring along a lee shore with the sails furled. A line became wrapped around her prop. She was being blown toward shore. The crew were unprepared or unable to sail away, for reasons that remain unclear. They tried to anchor, but the anchor became fouled in kelp, so it didn’t hold; you can see the fouled anchor in the video. Pretty soon…well, you can see the result. Ouch!

I don’t claim to be a paragon of virtue in this regard, so the advice I’m going to leave you with is intended for myself as well as my readers: Plan ahead. Think ahead. If you’re sailing, have a plan in case something goes wrong with the rig. If you’re motoring, have plan in case the motor fails. Have a plan in case the weather changes suddenly, or your navigational instruments fail. Discuss these contingency plans with the crew. Know where you are, know which way the wind and tide are going, and keep well off lee shores. Yes, even if you’ve got a fast powerboat and think you can ignore that stuff. Keep the boat tidy and ship-shape, particularly with regard to lines dangling in the water. When maneuvering around other vessel traffic, leave big, wide margins on all sides. Don’t wonder which boat’s going to take the other’s stern; make a decision, and if you’re going to take the other vessel’s stern, make an obvious course change to indicate that.

It’s never just one thing, but when things start to go sour, they have a way of accelerating unless you’re observant and responsive. OK, enough lecturing from the likes of me!