Ship Aground at Catalina; All 28 Aboard Are Safe

A 65-foot schooner was beached after being damaged by rocks at Little Harbor on the west side of Santa Catalina Island on Wednesday, but Los Angeles County lifeguards said all of the 28 people on board escaped unhurt.

A lifeguard spokesman said that exposed rocks in the small natural harbor six miles south of the Isthmus smashed a hole in the schooner’s side at about 7:15 p.m. and that the skipper evidently decided to beach the craft rather than allow it to sink.

Coast Guard Lt. Steven Sielbeck said a commercial tow-salvage vessel was en route to the scene, and the crew and passengers of the schooner were being taken to the isthmus, where arrangements would be made to return them to the mainland.