Float Sinks at Town Pier on Memorial Day

The float at the end of the pier at Fisherman's Beach usually gets lots of traffic on Memorial Day as passengers use it to climb aboard and disembark boats.

But Monday morning the float sank. And the metal ramp that typically angles down to the float, instead, lowered right into the harbor.

Boarding and departing boat passengers either climbed the side of the pier or relied on smaller boats to ferry them to and from shore.

Meanwhile, back at the ramp, it appears the chain rigging the lifts and lowers the float — riding up and down pilings — got bound up causing the decking to tilt and submerge, according to Harris Tibbetts, a regular presence at the beach.

Harris said an astronomical low tide may have caused the problem.

About 10:30 a.m., a crowd of people were trying to remedy the situation, said Selectman Glenn Kessler, who was there.

The Department of Public Works, which had two crew members on stand-by Memorial Day, closed the end of the pier for safety reasons, said DPW Director Gino Cresta.

The director said he will bring a full crew to the pier on Tuesday to fix the float.

The director suspects the problem may be related to the way the piling is wearing where the chain rides up and down the piling.

Crews installed the main float a week ago Thursday, the director said.