LOPEZ ISLAND -
A whale-watching boat with 80 passengers on board has run aground just north of Lopez Island -- and the Coast Guard and several other vessels in the area have come to the rescue.
Coast Guard officials say the 65-foot "Odyssey" ran aground around 5:30 Wednesday evening, and slowly began taking on water.
There were no injuries to any of the passengers. All 80 boarded other boats in the area, including another whale-watching ship.
The passengers were transported to Friday Harbor.
The Odyssey's crew made a distress call to the Coast Guard in Port Angeles shortly after running aground.
An 87-foot Coast Guard patrol boat responded and a boarding team found the ship taking on water at a rate of approximately one gallon per minute.
Two crew members stayed behind on board the leaking ship and used pumps to keep the ship from capsizing.
The Coast Guard expects the grounded ship to refloat itself with rising tide.
Coast Guard officials say the 65-foot "Odyssey" ran aground around 5:30 Wednesday evening, and slowly began taking on water.
There were no injuries to any of the passengers. All 80 boarded other boats in the area, including another whale-watching ship.
The passengers were transported to Friday Harbor.
The Odyssey's crew made a distress call to the Coast Guard in Port Angeles shortly after running aground.
An 87-foot Coast Guard patrol boat responded and a boarding team found the ship taking on water at a rate of approximately one gallon per minute.
Two crew members stayed behind on board the leaking ship and used pumps to keep the ship from capsizing.
The Coast Guard expects the grounded ship to refloat itself with rising tide.
