The Coast Guard towed the 40-foot fishing vessel JAYDEN RAY and its crew to safety early this morning after she ran aground at LaPush, about 3 miles north of the mouth of the Quillayute River, on the Olympic Peninsula.
The Coast Guard received a mayday call from the four-member crew of the JAYDEN RAY at 2:20 a.m., after the vessel washed up on rocks and was unable to deploy its anchor.
A helicopter crew from Air Station Port Angeles and a 47-foot motor lifeboat crew from Station Quillayute River at LaPush were dispatched. The motor lifeboat crew was able to navigate through the rocks and throw over a towline at approximately 3:30 a.m., after receiving illumination from a spotlight aboard the helicopter.
The motor lifeboat crew took the fishing vessel and its crew members in tow and transferred them back to LaPush where a post search-and-rescue boarding was conducted. According to a Coast Guard spokesman, the cause of the grounding is under investigation.
