After more than four days on the beach in Truro, Mass., the 78-foot groundfish boat Carrabassett was refloated on Saturday, Dec. 4.
In the early-morning hours of Tuesday, Nov. 30, the Carrabassett, once owned by Carlos “The Codfather” Rafael, grounded near the Highland Lighthouse with a crew of five onboard.
“The outrigger on the starboard side had gotten tangled underneath the keel,” said Keith Decker, CEO for Blue Harvest Fisheries, which now owns the Carrabassett. “I don’t know if that was the issue that caused the grounding or not.”
The owners hired a tugboat service to try to float the vessel free on Wednesday morning, given that the next high tide around 8 p.m. on Tuesday night was several hours after sunset.
As of Thursday morning, Dec. 2, the vessel was still aground.
“We had to get permission from the Coast Guard, from the National Seashore, from the city of Truro and three homeowners,” Decker told NF. “That’s really what the delay has been. Most of the issue primarily has to do with removing something off a national beach.”
Now that the fishing company has retained permits from the town of Truro and the Cape Cod National Seashore, as well as permission from local property owners to move heavy equipment onto the beach, they plan to begin excavation in advance of the next high tide.
Decker reported on Thursday, Dec. 2, that the captain and the crew are all fine. The captain remained on the boat, in preparation for refloating the vessel by Saturday morning.
“We’ve already had somebody on the boat, and the boat looks fine,” Decker said. “There have been no leaks or discharges, and the Coast Guard says the same.”
