Langley resident Bob Smith’s sailboat took an unexpected ride last week.

Smith said he launched the SV Cosie, a 22-foot Catalina sailboat, for the season earlier this month, but the tiny boat broke free of her mooring in high winds sometime during the night Monday, May 19.

“When I woke up Tuesday I looked out from our backyard, which is on Noblecliff Place with a clear view of the harbor, and the Cosie had disappeared,” wrote Smith, in an emailed description of the event.

With his wife Fran and great-nephew Egor — visiting from Toliatti, Russia — in tow, the trio set out to find the missing craft. It was eventually spotted on the beach below Edgecliff, but couldn’t be reached until the tide went out.

The tiny craft was beached, but sustained no damage to the hull. It was later recovered by Todd Graves of Sound Slope & Shoreline Inc Marine Services.

While the Cosie escaped the adventure unscathed, the engine was a casualty. With the help of friends Wayne Nehrlich and Ed Halloran — a Port of South Whidbey commissioner — the boat was hauled out in the moonlight Wednesday at high tide.

Smith said the little boat’s time on dry land, however, will be short-lived.

“The engine is being repaired so the Cosie will sail once again,” Smith said.