Early on Tuesday morning, March 18, a couple and their 9-year-old daughter missed the channel into Charleston, South Carolina’s harbor and ran their 58-foot motor yacht up onto the stone jetty where it began to sink.
Luckily, the Charleston Harbor Pilot boat was nearby. Charleston Pilot Launch Captain Montgomery Stafford maneuvered the 75-foot Pilot Launch Fort Moultrie close to the jetty, while Harbor Pilot Doug Logan and Apprentice Stephanie Kelly rescued the family.
Coast Guard Station Charleston, which had received a distress call from the family, were soon on scene and took the survivors off the pilot boat for transport back to land. The Coast Guard later reported that no one had been injured in the incident.
Soon after the rescue, the sinking yacht washed over the jetty and sank in relatively shallow water outside the main channel. Charleston Waterkeeper Andrew Wunderley commented to the press that even though the yacht was not in the channel or obstructing traffic, it probably will have to be removed for environmental reasons.
Captain Crayton Walters, president of the Charleston Branch Pilots’ Association, noted to the press, “The swift and decisive actions of our Pilot Boat Captains exemplify the highest standards of professionalism.”
The jetty at Charleston Harbor is two miles long. The rock construction is fairly low in the water and can be hard to see at night. Yet, Wunderley noted, “The primary responsibility for an accident like this lies with the captain of the boat. Modern navigation equipment typically provides a high level of awareness of where hazards are.”
