Boats washed ashore on Massachusetts beaches after nor'easter
Visibility may be low on Wollaston Beach in Quincy, Massachusetts, as the nor'easter comes to a close, but it's hard to miss the boat that washed up on the shore. Its mast has become a beacon drawing anyone with a camera. It's a visual representation of the cleanup that communities are dealing with as the storm winds down.
"I don't know whose boat that is, but I'd want to call him and tell him the bad news," said Quincy resident Steve Mullaney. "I've lived here for 60-something years, 64 years, and it never gets dull."
It's one of several boats that washed up during the nor'easter while leaving debris along the shore. Sea Tow, a towing service for boaters, removed another boat from a cove not far from the ship on Wollaston Beach. They say there is also a sunken ship near the Wollaston and Squantum Yacht Clubs.
"The majority of the problems have been boats in harbors that have exposure to the winds to the northeast. So, there's boats on moorings either breaking free and ending up on shore, or filling up with water and sinking," said Ethan Maass, owner of Sea Tow.
The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation confirms the sailboat on Wollaston Beach is a result of the storm. They are working to contact the owner. Sea Tow says the boat may be lucky as it came to rest on a sandy beach, which may only leave paint damage. They say the ones that end up on rocks can get holes in the side as the waves crash them repeatedly into the rocks. Maass says whoever pulls it out will have some work to do.
"We would have to drag that boat off the beach with one or two of our boats, or get something, maybe even heavy equipment on the beach to push the boat back into the water," said Maass. "Our boats are similar to recreational boats. They are not very big, but they have enough power and are set up correctly to tow boats like a tow truck and a car."
Maass says the tide won't come up high enough for it to float out on its own.
"When I saw it yesterday, I was like if the tide just came up a little bit more, maybe we could push it back out," said Quincy resident Steven Campbell.
Campbell says the storm wreaked havoc on his neighborhood.
"Four telephone poles went down, and a big tree ended up on someone's car," Campbell said.
On Monday afternoon, the storm saw its last high tide peak around 1 p.m. in Boston. The water was already reaching the top of the docks at the Aquarium Harborwalk an hour before high tide. It left locals and tourists to rethink their plans.
"It's our first time here, so I don't want to run into the issue of getting stuck somewhere unexpected," said Betsy Urias, who drove to Boston from New Jersey with her friend. "We will do more stuff indoors at this point like the aquarium and Boston Tea Party Museum perhaps? We will see what the weather allows."
