If the reverse of the seafaring superstition is true, one local boat is in for a lot of good luck after helping a lost albatross return to the sea.

The USCG Cutter Osprey, a U.S. Coast Guard vessel stationed in Port Townsend, was called into action to assist in the release operation of a Laysan albatross on Wednesday, March 8.

The albatross was first found in February, almost 70 miles inland on the Columbia River in Longview with a wound on its neck.

According to Anthony Denice, a naturalist from the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) who was involved in its rehabilitation and release, albatross are able to travel up to 400 miles at a time thanks to an ability called dynamic soaring.

“They don’t have to flap their wings. They just kind of glide like a kite and take advantage of those strong winds that you find out on the open ocean. They can even sleep while flying,” Denice said.

“The problem with that is that they can’t take off without strong winds, and they really do it best from water, so it’s tough for them to get airborne from land,” he added.

Which is why the Osprey was required.

While the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife had been involved since the bird was first found, it did not have a boat that could handle the deep ocean swells where the bird would be able to soar once more.

“Typically with wildlife from rehabilitation centers, they’re released at their point of origin or green spaces nearby,” said Jen Mannas, a biologist and manager of the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Falconry Program for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife who also went on the release.

“We had to get him way offshore to an appropriate place where he’d feed and also take flight,” she explained.

Before the release, the albatross spent almost a month in rehabilitation, readying itself for the trip.

Mannas first collected the bird from the harbormaster who managed to catch it in Longview, then brought the albatross to PAWS in Lynnwood where it healed over a three-week span.

During that time, the bird proved to be a good patient, if a bit boisterous.

“The staff were definitely fond of it and very appreciative of its fiery attitude, which is a really good thing when we’re preparing an animal for release because we want them to retain that wild behavior where they’re mistrustful of humans,” Denice said.

“I think the word the vet team was using was ‘spicy.’ That the bird had a spicy attitude, which is great for its prognosis and its future potential in the wild,” he added.

Mannas had a similar experience of the albatross during transport to the rehabilitation center.

“He was clacking away back there, and making his mooing noise, and they had put in a little can of food for him and he was throwing it in his enclosure,” Mannas said. “I was like, ‘He’s funky, so I think he’s going to be OK.’ And luckily, he was.”

“He stayed funky and ate. More importantly he was able to eat,” she added for emphasis.

She noted that the bird was perhaps the first albatross rescued to eat willingly in captivity.

A spokesman for the Coast Guard added that any albatross case like this is rare.

“I don’t think any of the crew can recall when they have done this, so it’s been at least a few years,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Steve Strohmaier, a Coast Guard spokesman who was also onboard the Osprey.

Strohmaier said the 87-foot cutter just happened to be available when conditions where right for the albatross to make its way out to sea.

After picking up the crew in Port Angeles, the vessel travelled 30 miles southwest of Cape Flattery to an area above Juan De Fuca Canyon, an underwater gully full of fish for the albatross to continue feasting on before its next adventure.

“Once we got out to that point, the bird was released. It didn’t even sit in the water,” Strohmaier said. “It actually immediately started flying, and about 15 to 20 seconds later did go down into the water, maybe to search for a snack, or maybe just to get its bearings.”