Sailboat comes ashore at Purdy sandspit, draws a crowd

Staff Report

An unidentified man ties up his beached sailboat. It had broken anchor during strong winds Feb. 12. Photo by Scott Turner, KP News

Sometime early Tuesday (Feb. 12) morning a 24-foot sailboat got blown onto the Purdy sandspit.

With the outgoing tide, the vessel remained beached, drawing looks and photo opportunities for people traveling to and from the Key Peninsula along State Route 302.

According to a spokesperson with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, it was the second time in last three days the medium-sized boat had lost its anchoring and drifted to shore in strong winds.

“The owner had re-anchored the boat a couple times, but the tide and strong winds just blew it back to shore,” said Brian Ward, a sergeant with the PCSD Peninsula Detachment.

The owner (who declined to give his name) is trying to get his boat back to his property, somewhere in the Burley Lagoon. He didn’t have much to say to reporters and gawkers as he secured his boat to shore.

According to Sgt. Ward, there is no law broken and no environmental issues with the incident at this time. He said there are no fuel tanks on board, and the boat has just a small “kicker motor.”

“He has a couple days to get it removed. Once the winds die down he will make another attempt to get it out of there,” he said.

Ward said these type of events happen every now and then. This one just happened to end up in the public’s eye.

“Fortunately, it was not blown into any bridge construction or any other structures,” he said.

Crews from Tacoma Power were also spotted along the popular beachfront.

Tim Burtron, a Tacoma Power supervisor, said they were there to make certain the vessel was secure. He did not want any chance for it to drift toward their power transmission lines near the Purdy bridge. As unlikely a scenario of a sailboat hitting the secure lines that dangle across the bay, Burtron said it’s “always smart to err towards caution.”