Coast Guard, National Guard Retrieve Stranded Buoy From Nantucket Beach
Jason Graziadei •
The Great Round Shoal buoy that washed ashore along Nantucket's eastern shoreline, just south of Great Point, on May 15 was removed from the beach Wednesday morning by an Army National Guard helicopter.
It marked the second time in three years the wayward buoy broke free from its position offshore and had to be rescued from Nantucket.
Members of Coast Guard Station Brant Point arrived at the location of the beached buoy early Wednesday morning to dig it out from the sand that had accumulated around it.
The 11,800-pound buoy was then lifted by a Chinook helicopter from the Connecticut Army National Guard. It was flown to the waiting U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Oak, which was positioned in the Chord of the Bay, north of Coatue.
The massive buoy previously washed ashore on Nantucket near Quidnet beach in March 2018 following a powerful nor'easter.
The Great Round Shoal Channel is normally located between Monomoy Island, south of Cape Cod, and Great Point. It is used by numerous large fishing vessels transiting Nantucket Sound from New Bedford to Georges Bank, according to NOAA.
The Trustees of Reservations, which owns the Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge where the buoy was discovered last month helped organize the operation on Wednesday, coordinating with the two federal agencies along with the Nantucket Harbormaster's office, and allowed limited access to the area by the press.
The access road to the refuge and Great Point was briefly closed Wednesday morning during the operation.
