Coast Guardsmen aboard the cutter USCGC John McCormick rescued two from a grounded boat in Neka Bay, south of Hoonah. on Tuesday, the Coast Guard announced.

The crew of the McCormick received the initial report of the vessel, the Reluctant, running aground at approximately 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning. The Sentinel-class cutter arrived on scene minutes later.

“Luckily, the McCormick was right there,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Janessa Warschkow, a Coast Guard public affairs specialist, in a phone interview. “The boat was taken back to Hoonah to assess the damages.”

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A sheen of diesel fuel was visible from a vent with the boat grounded, but Warschkow said the sheen dissipated soon as the Reluctant was righted and towed off at high tide.

“Fortunately where the fishing vessel ran aground they were only three miles away from where our cutter was anchored and the radio communications were clear,” said Sector Juneau command center watchstander Scott Cichoracki in the press release. “We were able to quickly get a crew on scene to assist.”

The vessel has been towed to Hoonah, but the Coast Guard hasn’t heard a damage report yet, Warschkow said. The Reluctant is homeported in Haines.

• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at (757) 621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.

Coast Guardsmen aboard the cutter USCGC John McCormick rescued two people off the fishing vessel Reluctant near Hoonah after it grounded Tuesday morning, Sept. 22, 2020. (Courtesy photo / U.S. Coast Guard)

Coast Guardsmen aboard the cutter USCGC John McCormick rescued two people off the fishing vessel Reluctant near Hoonah after it grounded Tuesday morning, Sept. 22, 2020. (Courtesy photo / U.S. Coast Guard)