Sailboat Washes Ashore on Fairhaven’s West Island

Fairhaven Harbormaster Tim Cox is scratching his head after a sailboat was found washed ashore on West Island.

The sailboat was discovered Wednesday by a resident walking on the beach behind the island's state reservation.

Cox says the 25-foot boat likely drifted over from Falmouth after breaking loose of it's moorings during one of the recent winter storms.

Cox tells WBSM News it's going to be difficult to remove the boat. "If we wait another couple days, I'm going to have to get somebody with a tugboat or something to go in and drag it off the beach. If it was on a regular beach or something we could get a crane down there, lift it up, and put it on a trailer. But there's no way a crane's going to get through the woods to lift it," says Cox.

Cox says he contacted the registered owner of the vessel, who says the boat was recently donated to a charity organization.

He's currently working on the best way to remove the boat and determine who is responsible for the cost of the operation.