Two couples on a pleasure cruise from Tacoma to La Conner made an unscheduled stop at Whidbey Island a mile from the Clinton ferry dock.

“The two girls were sleeping down below and my friend and I fell asleep on the flying bridge,” said owner Ted Christensen, 84. “The autopilot malfunctioned and here we are.”

Christensen estimates the boat was traveling through Possession Sound at roughly 12 knots, or about 14 mph, when it slammed onto the shore near Columbia Beach. The mishap occurred at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday.

There were no injuries, save the skipper’s pride.

“I’ve been boating since 1954 and never had a problem,” Christensen said.

He added that there didn’t appear to be any hull damage and hoped he could refloat the craft when high tide comes at midnight.

The boat, a 45-foot Tollycraft named On Tap, sits at a 40 degree angle on the rocks, its bow stem resting lightly on a driftwood log.

“Without the log, we’d have gone into the woods,” joked passenger Chris Nyvall.

Christensen and Nyvall discussed taking the dinghy to Everett, hopping a bus, and then heading to La Conner, but decided it would be wiser to wait for help.

“Any restaurants nearby?” Christensen asked.