Stranded crabbers rescued from Saratoga Passage Friday night

Two men were unharmed after spending Friday night adrift in a boat on Saratoga Passage.

Two men were unharmed after spending Friday night adrift in a boat on Saratoga Passage.

Shortly after 11 p.m., emergency personnel from Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue, the Island County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Coast Guard were dispatched to look for a small boat that was reportedly adrift between Whidbey and Camano islands.

Ed Hartin, Central Whidbey Fire and Rescue chief, said two men, who were vacationing on Whidbey Island, left Harrington Lagoon on Central Whidbey hoping to crab off Baby Island and fish near Camano Island. He said the wife of the boat owner reported the missing vessel.

When returning, the boat’s engine died near Hidden Beach and the boat drifted south due to tidal currents, according to a news release from Central Whidbey Fire and Rescue.

Central Whidbey firefighters along with personnel from the sheriff’s office and a Coast Guard helicopter searched the waters south of Harrington Lagoon toward Baby Island. Approximately 40 minutes later, the helicopter spotted the stranded boat and directed emergency personnel to the scene.

The two men were cold, wet and tired but uninjured. They were transported to the Coupeville Wharf.