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Local News | LoveBug, 103-foot capsized yacht, raised from…

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Capital Gazette eNewspaper

Local News | LoveBug, 103-foot capsized yacht, raised from water ahead of towing to New Jersey

Donjon Marine Co., the New Jersey-based firm that has worked to raise the vessel over the last two weeks, plans to begin towing the yacht north through the Chesapeake Bay and the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal to the mouth of the Maurice River in New Jersey Tuesday morning, said Steven Newes, the company’s senior vice president.

The salvage team will tow the LoveBug alongside the Farrell 256, a 200-foot crane barge, for safety, as the yacht is a “dead ship,” or a vessel without power, he said. Once it reaches the mouth of the Maurice River, the yacht will be handed over to a smaller vessel for transport to a shipyard along the river. Delivery is anticipated by Wednesday evening although which shipyard the LoveBug will end up at is unclear.

As salvage efforts wrap up, the Coast Guard has established a temporary safety zone for the mouth of West River within 200 yards of the LoveBug. Vessels will not be allowed to enter the zone unless authorized through Aug. 30, according to a notice posted Monday on the Federal Register .

The Farrell 256 and a second crane barge, the 250-foot Columbia NY, have worked to free the yacht from the muddy bottom of the West River. The LoveBug had settled into the mud “quite a bit,” Newes said, complicating efforts to place slings underneath the yacht to lift it.

Salvors’ progress lifting the LoveBug from the shallow waterway could be seen Friday and Saturday as the rear half of the yacht, underwater for weeks, emerged. By Friday evening, the yacht’s name on its transom was visible above the waterline, and by Sunday morning, only a small portion of the deck at the back of the yacht was underwater.

Once the yacht was lifted, salvors found mud inside. The mud needs to be removed to patch the yacht and “render it safely afloat” for towing, Newes said.

Until salvage crews pulled the LoveBug from the water, the yacht had remained aground in the same location between Beverly Beach and Shady Side for almost four weeks. Though the yacht was originally resting on its starboard, or right side, it rolled some prior to salvage beginning.

The Italian-built yacht was sailing south on the Chesapeake Bay from Annapolis on July 27 when it began to tip over. The Coast Guard received a mayday call at 12:36 p.m., but by the time crews arrived, the five people onboard had been rescued by a good Samaritan and a nearby towboat. Paramedics tended to two of the passengers, according to the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, but both declined to be treated.

The LoveBug, which cost between $110,000 and $125,000 to charter for a week, was not operating as a charter when it overturned, said Hunter Dortenzo, a Natural Resources Police spokesperson.

Though VesselFinder, a marine traffic site, indicated the LoveBug is owned by Bees Honey LLC, a limited liability company based in the Marshall Islands, Federal Communications Commission records show otherwise.

The yacht’s shipboard radio station license is registered to Jabulani Charter Florida, a Florida-based limited liability company with a Rockville mailing address. The licensee should be the vessel owner, according to an FCC spokesperson. Efforts to reach the person listed as the licensee were unsuccessful.

The Natural Resources Police and the National Transportation Safety Board are conducting separate investigations into what happened to the yacht.

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Nanaimo Yacht Charters & Sailing School is a professionally operated charter organization run by people who have been in the business of delivering top quality sailing and powerboat charters for over 30 years.  It also encompasses a  boating and sailing school , accredited to teach both International Sail and Power Association as well as the Canadian Yachting Association (Sail Canada) methods of instruction. Our boating and sailing schools certification programs range from basic sailing lessons to advanced sailing courses. 

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