The fishing boat Miss Jenna, which regularly docks at Tisbury Wharf Co. in Vineyard Haven Harbor, ran hard aground on Naushon early Friday morning. The U.S. Coast Guard received the initial call at 2:40 am, Petty Officer Nicole Groll told The Times. No injuries were reported, she said.
Station Woods Hole respond to the Miss Jenna, Lt. Nathan Mendes said. Mark Brown, owner of TowBoat U.S. Falmouth, said he was on scene at 3:30 am, about 20 minutes ahead of the Coast Guard.
“I was expecting the boat to be submerged when I arrived,” he said, based on the intensity of the distress call. Though on the rocks, the vessel wasn’t half submerged, though it required immediate dewatering, he said: “If the water got into the engine room, it would have been a lot worse.”
Tucker Roy, owner of Tucker Roy Marine Towing and Salvage, said his tugboat, the Morgan, was dispatched to the scene from New Bedford. The Morgan freed the Miss Jenna from rocks by 8 am, he said. “There were holes in it, but they patched the holes up,” he said.
Brown said the damage was in the bow. The Coast Guard mitigated it with wedges, he said.
The Morgan towed the Miss Jenna to Fairhaven, where the vessel is expected to undergo repairs. “My pumps were on it the entire time,” Brown said.
The cause of the grounding is under investigation, Lt. Mendes said.
Brown said the Miss Jenna was running at about 8 knots when it hit the beach. He said it was possible autopilot was engaged.
This is a developing story.
