UPDATED Tuesday, Nov. 7: Portland Spirit didn't have right of way in close call with rowers, Coast Guard official says

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The Portland Spirit is suspending a captain who forced rowers to evade the vessel's path during a race on the Willamette River late last month.

Company president Dan Yates said Monday he was suspending Capt. Lowell Gillespie Jr. for the incident near the Marquam Bridge. Photos posted to the photo hosting website Flickr show the ubiquitous Willamette River cruiser nearing racers in the Portland Fall Classic.

"This is a lapse of judgment that ... I need to deal with," Yates said.

Yates said the suspension would last 90 days. He has no intention of firing Gillespie, who he called an "outstanding driver" with 40 years of experience.

"He made a very poor decision on Sunday," Yates said. "He should have just waited. There was no time constraint."

The Vashon Island Rowing Club, which competed in the regatta, said on its website that the Portland Spirit "cut dangerously across the course, forcing novice coxswain Flora Briggs to take evasive action for her crew." The posting praised her action, adding that event organizers are looking into the incident.

Portland-based U.S. Coast Guard officials are investigating the encounter to determine what happened and whether enforcement action is needed against anyone involved, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Amanda Norcross.

No one was hurt, Yates said, adding that the Portland Spirit was 125 feet from the rowers. But, as Yates put it, he has to reinforce to his captains that other mariners aren't necessarily as qualified as they are and that captains need to err on the side of caution.

An administrative law judge for the U.S. Coast Guard in August suspended Gillespie's merchant mariner credentials for a month after he ran into other boats during a huge traffic jam on the Willamette that forced the shutdown of the Red Bull Flugtag competition in 2015.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Gillespie would be on probation for a year after the suspension and that he had 60 days to appeal the ruling.

Yates said that a Coast Guard probation does not put any restrictions on navigators.

Yates said between the two encounters, Gillespie has done many cruises and that he doesn't think the incidents are necessarily related.

Sgt. Brandon White, a Multnomah County Sheriff's Office spokesman, said the Portland Spirit technically had the right of way. The sheriff's office hasn't fielded any complaints about the encounter, from what White could tell, as of late Monday morning. The Coast Guard received a report Oct. 30 that the Portland Spirit had maneuvered into a group of nearby recreational boaters.

Yates said no one from the race has contacted the company, but someone did lodge an anonymous complaint. He's also heard from mariners, who he said are angry about Gillespie's 90-day suspension.

The Portland Fall Classic featured 282 boats from 27 clubs, according to a Facebook page. The race was set to operate from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 29, according to a notice to mariners. Yates said the encounter happened about 4 p.m.

Operating outside of the permitted event time could result in enforcement action against the permit holder, said Norcross, a Coast Guard spokeswoman in Seattle.

Gillespie was returning with an empty ship from the Salmon Springs dock at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland to its east side dock at Caruthers Landing at the time of the encounter, Yates said.

American Waterways, Inc. owns and operates the Portland Spirit, Willamette Star and other vessels.

Efforts to contact the man credited with the photos on Flickr have been unsuccessful.

— Jim Ryan and Lynne Terry

jryan@oregonian.com

503-221-8005; @Jimryan015