Shipwrecks and groundings

2013

July 18, 2013

Sailboat That Traversed Sea Alone Scrapped for $1

Sara Brown
Shipwrecks and groundings

A 36.5-foot sailboat that washed ashore on Norton Point July 5 is finally off the beach after a week of removal efforts, and Edgartown police reported that several people who stripped the boat of its contents have returned the items.

Edgartown police Det. Sgt. Christopher Dolby told the Gazette this week that Running Free, the sailboat belonging to Bill Heldenbrand, 67, of St. Joseph, Mo., was pulled off the beach last Friday. During an attempted transatlantic voyage, Mr. Heldenbrand encountered a severe storm and was forced to abandon his boat between Florida and Bermuda.

July 11, 2013

Looters Descend on Grounded Sailboat, Police Warn of Arrests

Mark Alan Lovewell
Shipwrecks and groundings

Running Free, a 36-and-a-half foot sailboat that ran aground at Norton Point beach on Friday, was still languishing on the beach nearly a week later after salvage and refloating efforts failed. Meanwhile, visitors to the site were reported to be stripping the boat of its contents as it remained lodged in its sandy berth, prompting the Edgartown police to open an investigation Thursday.

July 10, 2013

Salvage Efforts Failed, Looters Descend on Grounded Boat

Mark Alan Lovewell
Boats and boating
Shipwrecks and groundings

Running Free, a 36-and-a-half foot sailboat that ran aground at Norton Point beach on Friday, was still languishing on the beach Wednesday morning after salvage and refloating efforts failed. Meanwhile, visitors to the site were reported to be stripping the boat of its contents.

July 8, 2013

Abandoned Sailboat Washes Ashore at Norton Point

Mark Alan Lovewell
Norton Point
Shipwrecks and groundings
Storms

Salvage plans are under way for an abandoned 36-and-a-half-foot sailboat that washed up at Norton Point beach on Friday night.

No one was aboard the Running Free, which was abandoned in the Bermuda Triangle on Mother’s Day.

2012

November 21, 2012

Possible Shipwreck Remnants Discovered

Mark Alan Lovewell
Wasque
Norton Point
Lucy Vincent beach
Shipwrecks and groundings

Shifting sand at both Wasque and Lucy Vincent Beach has uncovered what may be parts of two shipwrecks.

Last Sunday afternoon, Andrew Orcutt of Edgartown and Albany was out walking the shoreline near Wasque and the Norton Point breach. He discovered remnants of what appeared to be a ship in the wash.

July 24, 2012

News Update: Tuesday, July 24 - Scallop Boat Runs Aground off East Chop

Mark Alan Lovewell
Shipwrecks and groundings
East Chop

The 84-foot fishing boat Kris & Amy grounded two miles east of East Chop on Hedge Fence Shoal on Monday afternoon and required the attention of several salvage firms to free her last night.

Senior Chief Jamey Kinney of Coast Guard Sector Woods Hole said that a call came in from the vessel at 12:55 p.m. that she had run aground in 11 feet of water. Coast Guard Station Woods Hole responded. The vessel, a sea scalloper with a blue hull and white superstructure, remained stuck through the afternoon.

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