NAWILIWILI — A 32-foot sailboat lies submerged just outside the entrance to the Nawiliwili Small Boat Harbor. Chief Warrant Officer Dennis Schoenwether said Wednesday that the United States Coast Guard was notified Sunday morning about the submerged vessel. “The Good
NAWILIWILI — A 32-foot sailboat lies submerged just outside the entrance to the Nawiliwili Small Boat Harbor.
Chief Warrant Officer Dennis Schoenwether said Wednesday that the United States Coast Guard was notified Sunday morning about the submerged vessel.
“The Good Samaritan who reported the incident said he was able to board the vessel and secure it by throwing an anchor out. That, and the lack of strong trades and high surf, helped keep the boat intact,” he said.
The USCG’s area of responsibility in this incident is to prevent pollution of the water by oil products, Schoenwether said. The harbor falls under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. The owner is working with the harbormaster to get the boat refloated.
“I got there Sunday morning, and from the inspection that we made of the situation, there appears to be no pollution occurring,” Schoenwether said.
His arrival to Nawiliwili from Honolulu coincided with the arrival of the boat’s owner who claimed to have sailed in from Hanalei, Saturday night.
“No one really knows what happened,” Schoenwether said. “But it appears the boat broke its mooring and perhaps got caught in the rocks where the high tide might have swamped it. The owner said they haven’t been able to ascertain whether or not there are holes in the hull from being on the rocks.”
Schoenwether said his latest update from the owner Tuesday was that she was trying to gather resources and working with the harbormaster to have a salvage company refloat the boat and move it to dry dock where they can better assess the damage.
