The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating why a commercial lobster boat and a historic schooner carrying tourists collided Wednesday afternoon near Squirrel Island in Boothbay Harbor.

Kenneth Stuart, a Coast Guard spokesman, said the two vessels struck each other shortly after 1 p.m.

The impact “sheered off” the stern of the schooner Lazy Jack, but it did not take on water. None of the four passengers and two crew members was injured.

The two lobstermen on the boat Andra and Donna, based in Boothbay Harbor, were not injured.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Kurt Hein said the schooner crew and passengers were evacuated onto a nearby commercial vessel that heard the crew’s distress call to the Coast Guard and stopped to help.

The schooner motored into port under its own power with a Coast Guard escort. It will undergo repairs at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard.

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The lobster boat sustained scrapes to its bow.

Stuart said the Coast Guard investigation is not complete and it’s unclear which vessel may have initiated the collision.

According to its website, the Lazy Jack was built in 1947 and is 48 feet long. It is a privately owned charter boat with the capacity to carry up to 14 passengers.

A person who answered the phone number listed on the Lazy Jack tour website declined to comment on the incident.


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