Stranded Buoy Retrieved By Army National Guard, Coast Guard

Another year, another stranded buoy, and another visually stunning operation to retrieve it.

The Connecticut Army National Guard and Coast Guard teamed up Monday morning to retrieve the Nantucket Sound Channel buoy lighted buoy 21A, a 13,000-pound navigational buoy that washed ashore on the inside of Great Point back in January.

The crews utilized a Chinook helicopter to hoist the buoy from the beach, along with a Blackhawk helicopter to transport the personnel to the beach. 

Nantucket Coast Guard master chief John Lowell confirmed that the crews proceeded to drop the buoy in the harbor and then hooked it up to a mooring ball until a Coast Guard buoy tender can come to retrieve it. Nantucket Harbormaster Sheila Lucey's crew assisted the Army National Guard and Coast Guard with that portion of the operation.

The 21A buoy is usually located east of Martha’s Vineyard. It travelled more than 19 miles across Nantucket Sound after breaking free from its anchor in January 2025 before stranding along the beach at the Coskata Coatue Wildlife Refuge. It is one of several navigational buoys that have washed up near Great Point in recent years, with each prompting a similar recovery effort involving military helicopters.

Previous operations included retrievals in 2022 (the Great Round Shoal buoy), and in 2024 (the Pollock Rip channel buoy).

A Coast Guard plan to remove hundreds of such navigational buoys from New England waters, including several near Nantucket, has been delayed until at least 2026 after significant pushback from legislators and boaters.

The plan, which was opposed by Nantucket Harbormaster Sheila Lucey and a number of local charter boat captains, was put on hold earlier this month, with the Coast Guard extending the public comment period until September.

All photos below by Kit Noble