Sailboat grounds near Oregon Inlet

A 30-foot-long sailboat ran aground approximately one mile south of Oregon Inlet on Sunday night, November 5.

Six members of the Chicamacomico Banks Fire & Rescue (CBFR) as well as crew members from U.S. Coast Guard Station Oregon Inlet responded to the incident, which was reported at 8:52 p.m. on Sunday.

Because the vessel was lodged in shallow waters, two members of CBFR were able to walk the sailboat’s lone passenger from the site of the grounding to shore, (a distance of about 60 feet), although multiple rescue vessels were standing by in case assistance was required.

“We took two water rescue trucks [and our water rescue jet ski] to the scene, but because the water was chest-to-shoulder deep without a wave, we were able to get the passenger from the boat and walked him in,” said CBFR Chief Mike Daugherty. “We had a paddleboard to bring him in as needed, but it was easier to just walk.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service also responded to the scene, and there were no injuries reported in the incident.

As of Monday morning, the vessel – named the Monolow Captain – was still grounded along the shoreline about one mile south of the Marc Basnight Bridge.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are coordinating with the owner of the vessel to remove it from the shoreline, and to take care of any hazardous materials that may need to be cleaned up.