A year and a half ago, a sailboat washed up on the shores of Edgecomb, disappeared again, and then reappeared in Woolwich, setting off a saga of questions, deliberations, and pointed fingers.
Now, the back and forth is coming to a close.
At a Sept. 29 Edgecomb Select Board meeting, Chair Forrest Carver said Woolwich has agreed to scuttle the boat and split the cost of removal. Harbor Master Terry Stockwell said King’s Tide Marine, of Bath, is set to do the work and the cost is not set yet until it is determined whether the boat is floating. If the boat floats, it will cost the town $3,500. If it doesn’t, it will cost $6,500.
According to Edgecomb Tax Collector Jessica Mague, the money will come out of the remaining harbor master’s budget for 2027.
At the Sept. 29 meeting, the board approved the allocation of up to $2,700, the remainder to be paid next year.
“I’ll let them know that we fully intend to split the cost with them and that we appreciate their working with us,” Carver said.
In a Friday, Oct. 9 interview, Stockwell said the sailboat first appeared on Edgecomb’s shores near Fort Edgecomb in May 2025. The boat remained there for around a month and when someone told Stockwell they thought it belonged to someone who kept it in Wiscasset. He said he then towed it over and put it on one of the Wiscasset Yacht Club’s moorings.
“The yacht club and the Wiscasset harbor master called me up and said, “Get rid of it,” Stockwell said.
He then went on to tow the sailboat over to Edgecomb waters, where it stayed while the town tried to figure out who the original owner was. Stockwell said the boat had been last registered 52 years ago to a Westport Island man who is now deceased, and his wife was not interested in retaining ownership of the vessel.
As the town went through the process of declaring the sailboat as abandoned and preparing it to be auctioned, it disappeared again.
“I live on the Sheepscot River and I didn’t see it go by me,” Stockwell said.
After being missing for months, the sailboat landed in the waters off of Woolwich and the town requested Edgecomb get rid of the boat.
According to Stockwell, it has not yet been determined when the boat will be removed, which will also be determined whether it sinks or swims.
The Edgecomb Select Board will meet next at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at the town hall, at 16 Town Hall Road. For more information, call 882-7018 or go to edgecomb.org.