TowBoatU.S. crews removed one of the two last beached boats, on Wednesday, December 2. With the use of three 550 horsepower tow boats, the salvage team wiggled the sailboat back and forth, taking almost two hours to get the boat off the beach and back into the water. Photo by Laura Mulrooney.On Wednesday, December 2, Gulfport Marina Harbourmaster Denis Frain organized a stranded sailboat recovery with TowBoatU.S.
As of Wednesday, two boats remained of the six stranded on Gulfport Beach by Tropical Storm Eta on November 11.
The owner of “Tocade” surrendered the boat to the city, giving them go ahead for salvage and removal operations.
TowBoatU.S. removed one of the two boats with three 550 horsepower tow boats. The salvage team wiggled the sailboat back and forth for almost two hours, eventually sliding it off the beach and back into the water.
“It was just a matter of time,” Captain Clayton Tieman, of TowBoatU.S., said. “We knew we were going to get it, it just took some time.”
Although operations to recover the large red steel-hull boat began immediately after recovery of the “Tocade,” the crew was unable to successfully remove the vessel. The size and weight of the boat have proven to be a challenge.
According to Gulfport’s Cultural Facilities Supervisor Justin Shea, the city will likely work with the county to get a barge in to winch the red boat off of the beach.
On Wednesday, December 2 Gulfport Marina Harbourmaster Denis Frain organized stranded sailboat recovery with TowBoatU.S. The crew took almost two hours to get the boat back into the water. Onlookers cheered as the boat slid back into the water and stayed afloat. Photo by Laura Mulrooney.
After two hours, the TowBoatU.S. crew was able to wiggle a stranded sailboat off Gulfport Beach, back into the water. Photo by Laura Mulrooney.
TowBoatU.S. crews worked well into the evening to remove the second and last beached boat from Tropical Storm ETA, but the size and weight of the big red boat proved a challenge. Photo by Laura Mulrooney.