Community Corner
Surging Tide Carries Recreation Sailboats To Nahant
The two 13-foot boats washed ashore near The Tides and are being loaded on to a trailer and returned to Fisherman's Beach this morning.
Tidal waters surged high on late Sunday night and carried away two sailboats that were stored on dollies.
The 13-foot boats beached by The Tides restaurant in Nahant and were being retrieved this morning byTeam Coach Bart Lowden and members of , said Recreation Department Director Danielle Strauss.
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The Department has six of the 13-foot boats, called 420s. The high school sailing team and summer recreation sailing programs use the craft.
About 11 pm Sunday an astronomically high tide fueled by a storm off the coast sent tidal waters riding high on Fisherman's Beach where the department stores its sailboats, said the department's director.
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The department stores the boats high on the beach by the seawall and access road at Fisherman's.
The director and Don Pinkerton, who belongs to Friends of Swampscott Sailing, responded to a report late Sunday that tidal waters had lifted the boats from their storage spots.
They found three boats buried in the sand, and saw that three boats were missing from the beach, she said.
Earlier Sunday night, Jackson Schultz, a young man who worked at Fisherman's Beach assisting boaters last summer, gained control of one of the freed boats and secured it to the float at the end of the pier, Strauss said.
By 9 am this morning, Friends of Swampscott Sailing had moved all the boats but the two in Nahant to the Fisherman's Beach parking lot, the director said.
The two boats being retrieved from Nahant will be stored in the lot as well, and all of them will be inspected for any damage.
At 7:30 am Monday it was low tide, and Fisherman's Beach was carpeted with red, brown and green seaweed. Lowden and members of the sailing group tipped boats to empty them of sea water and cleared them of sand and seaweed.
Earlier, Lowden had sailed into the harbor to try to recover the lost sailboats.
Off Nahant he ran into choppy seas and waves about 6 feet high and, being alone on the craft, returned to shore, he said.
Another astronomically high tide, of almost 12 feet, is predicted Monday night.
The director plans to keep the boats in the Fisherman's Beach parking lot.
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