WA man gets sailboat trapped beneath bridge
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- It was a rough morning for an 81-year-old Camas, Wash., man who told Portland, Ore., firefighters he ran afoul of four sandbars in the Columbia River before getting his recently purchased 33-foot sailboat trapped underneath a railroad bridge.
Portland Fire and Rescue spokesman Paul Corah says firefighters pulled Paul Bulkley off his partially capsized boat and onto a fireboat Wednesday. He was wearing a life jacket and was unhurt. He says he misjudged the height of the bridge. Bulkley bought the boat four weeks ago.
Corah says a Multnomah County sheriff's boat pulled the sailboat free and it's now at a moorage.
The trestle bridge was being assessed for any damage. Corah said Wednesday afternoon there were no reported interruptions of rail service on the bridge.
