November 07, 2024
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Coast Guard evacuates 41 after schooner runs aground

BANGOR – A crew from the U.S. Coast Guard station in Eastport evacuated 41 passengers from a schooner Monday evening after the vessel ran aground south of Indian Island in Passamaquoddy Bay.

The Coast Guard received a radio call at about 6:30 p.m. reporting the 84-foot vessel Sylvina W. Beal “hard aground and in need of assistance,” according to a press release issued by the Coast Guard at about 10 p.m. Monday.

The release said there were no injuries and indicated the vessel was not taking on water.

A 41-foot boat was launched from the Eastport station to evacuate the passengers from the stranded vessel. The passengers were taken to the Coast Guard station in Eastport, the release said.

Winds at the scene were around 8 mph with visibility around 100 yards and calm seas, the Coast Guard reported.

The release added that the case is under investigation.

A man who answered the phone at the Eastport Coast Guard station at about 10:30 p.m. said he could offer no further information on the case at that time.

Information on the Sylvina W. Beal at www.eastportwindjammers.com states that the 50-passenger vessel is available for daily whale watching and sunset cruises out of Eastport. The schooner was built in East Boothbay Harbor in 1911 for Charles H. Beal of Beals Island and named for his wife, Sylvina W., according to the Web site. The ship is now berthed in Eastport and captained by Captain Butch Harris.

The online write-up also states that the vessel has been used as a setting in two movies, “Amistad” (1997) and “Age of Innocence” (1993).


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