Boat sinks, 63-year-old couple survive 150-yard swim to shore

LA CONNER, Wash. -- A 63-year-old couple was found suffering severe hypothermia Monday after their boat capsized off Kiket island and they held onto the boat for 15 minutes before deciding to swim 150 yards to shore.

According to the news site Goskagit.com, Skagit County sheriff's Sgt. Chris Baldwin said the couple were taken to Island Hospital in Anacortes and it appeared they would be OK.

Baldwin said the couple had been crabbing on the northwest side of the island around 2 p.m. when a line got entangled in the propeller of their 17-foot boat. The stern got turned into the wind and waves swamped the boat, he told Goskagit.com.

The couple, whose names were not released, held onto the capsized boat for about 15 minutes before deciding to swim the 150 yards to shore, Baldwin said.

“They were in the water for close to 30 minutes,” he said. “… Their life jackets saved their life.”