Salvaging in Sheepshead Bay or Cleaning Up Ernesto's Mess

This weekend's perfect weather not only drew boaters out to enjoy the last weekend of the summer, but also brought more repair and recovery activities to the waterfront. In addition to the damage Ernesto brought to Sheepshead Bay, we've discovered the greater extent of his damage in ports very close to our local waters. In Atlantic Highlands, a favorite overnight spot of Brooklyn sailors, 28 vessels that broke free of their moorings , 18 broke free in Keyport, 18 broke free in Perth Amboy and 25 broke free in Great Kills Harbor. None of the Raritan Bay mooring fields were spared. Not all of these boats sank but they were all severely damaged.

An example of what some local boaters must be experiencing took place at Sheepshead Bay Yacht Club this weekend. A half-dozen men gathered at the main dock along Sheepshead Bay , joined by an FDNY rescue boat and and a diver. They were there to bring a small fishing boat that was docked in a slip at the club up from the bottom of the Bay. To bring her up, they At first they tied air filled bags to the hull, which started to raise her off the bottom. In order to get the deck and transom above the water line, the men tied the sunken boat to two neighboring boats and began to pull her up to a point where the FDNY used an automatic pump to expedite the bailing process.