Vessel recoverer Sea Tow successfully raised the burnt-out hulk of the sailing yacht Stinger from the bottom of Lagoon Pond on July 6 after it sank the day before following a conflagration that engulfed it and the sailing yacht Sundowner.
Sea Tow employed air-filled bladders to buoy up the wreck and then worked with Tow Boat US to tow it under the Lagoon Pond Bridge and into Vineyard Haven Harbor where it was later dragged onto RM Packer’s wharf to await inspection from The Oak Bluffs Fire Department and other officials.
Sea Tow pulled the Sundowner to Packer’s wharf on July 5. That vessel did not sink, but sustained heavy fire damage like the Stinger. The fire dismasted both yachts, ate their decks away, and gutted the cabins below. No one was injured by the blazing vessels or during the response to to extinguish them. A cause has yet to be determined.