US boat washes up in Spain
- Fri, 27 Jan 2012
A 26ft motor boat has washed up on the Spanish coast, three-and-a-half years after its crew were washed overboard off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Scott Douglas and Rich St. Pierre were thrown into the sea while attempting to cross a bar in 6-8ft sea conditions on 25 August 2008, and watched helplessly as ‘Nantucket' drifted away from them.
It took them an hour to swim to shore where they received first aid but, although the incident was reported to the US Coast Guard (USCG), the boat had disappeared from sight and was gone, they thought, for good. But 1,241 days later, on 17 January 2012, ‘Nantucket' reappeared 20 miles off the northern coast of Spain after a lone voyage of some 3,500 nautical miles.
Madrid Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre reported the finding of the boat to the USCG who was able to link the vessel, a Regulator 26ft Queen Bee, to the 2008 incident. "It probably could have floated for another three years", said USCG spokesman Lt Joe Klinker.
Due to Spanish laws, the vessel is now owned by Spain.
The boat's original owner, Scott Douglas, said it was amazing that ‘Nantucket' had turned up. He is now retired, but says he may turn the story of the boat's voyage into a children's story.
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