The Midpoint out of Savannah, Ga., sits high and dry on the tide line on the beach at 21st Street in Ocean City, NJ, Tuesday morning as it waits for a tow at high tide.
A sailboat bound for Florida ran aground in Ocean City overnight and sat high and dry on the beach at 21st Street for most of Tuesday as it waited for high tide and a tow.
A TowBoat U.S. Shamrock Marine Towing crew successfully pulled the boat off the beach at about 4:35 p.m.
The "Midpoint" out of Savannah, Ga., made its unplanned stop in relatively calm seas last night.
TowBoat U.S. Capt. John C. Bodin said the boat beached twice in 12 hours. His crew towed the boat off the beach at 19th Street at midnight. The Midpoint captain reportedly was trying to fix a faulty steering cable, but an anchor equipment failure led him to drift back onto the beach.
A TowBoat U.S. crew member delivered the tow line by paddling a sailboard out from the beach to his company's tow boats.
The two-person crew hunkered down inside the boat as they awaited the tow on Tuesday.
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Neither the Ocean City Police Department nor the Ocean City Fire Department were called to respond to the incident. There was no distress call, and the State Police Marine Division had been unaware of the beaching until our call.
As the tide approached high late Tuesday afternoon a TowBoat U.S. crew member paddled a sailboard out to one of his company's boats and returned with a line to attach to the stranded sailboat.
The tow boat was quickly able to spin the sailboat, but it pulled lightly for more than an hour before the rising tide and waves floated the craft.
The Midpoint reportedly is headed for Seaview Harbor to dry out and make repairs before continuing its journey.
A faulty steering cable reportedly caused the Midpoint to run aground in relatively calm seas overnight Monday into Tuesday.
