BAR HARBOR – An urchin fishing boat with four people on board broke down Monday afternoon just off Great Head in Acadia National Park and sparked a three-agency rescue operation .

A hiker on Great Head Trail noticed that a fishing boat was in distress about 1:30 p.m. and alerted park authorities.

The Quarter Raspy, a fishing vessel out of Winter Harbor, ran into trouble when its boat shaft pin broke and disabled the propeller.

When Charlie Phippen, harbor master for the town of Bar Harbor, arrived on the scene in the harbor master’s boat, he found that the urchin diving crew had dropped anchor very close to Great Head.

“They were safely anchored in about 80 feet of water,” Phippen said. “There were 3-foot swells, but they were riding fine and OK.”

The crew, who were not identified by authorities, were offered a Coast Guard escort but opted to get towed back to Winter Harbor.