An unmanned lobster boat crashed into the bridge over The Gut in South Bristol on Saturday afternoon during heavy wind and rain, causing extensive damage to the boat and temporarily closing the drawbridge to boat traffic.
The boat was on the east side of the bridge when it came free from its mooring and drifted into the bridge, according to local officials. The boat continued under the bridge and out the other side, drifting past Gamage Shipyard.
“Mike Nyboe just went and got it, brought it up to the public landing, and dropped it at the dock,” South Bristol Fire Chief Mark Carrothers said. Nyboe owns Bittersweet Landing Boatyard, on the opposite side of the bridge.
The boat, Rise & Shine, belongs to James Farrar of Bremen, according to South Bristol Harbor Master Cecil Burnham.
Although the vessel sustained heavy damage to the wood pilothouse, the fiberglass hull appears intact, Burnham said.
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