The 91-foot clam boat Michelle K hit the north jetty, crossed the channel, and sank in the Manasquan River alongside the south bulkhead on Saturday night, September 26, 2004. The vessel was eventually raised, and nothing remains of the incident but a crack in the concrete wall. But it caused quite a stir at the time.
Saturday nightSunday morning, on the rocksOn Monday she was almost refloated by pumps, but when it became obvious she could not be moved before a coming storm, she was re-sunk in place.Oil slick downstream(Wednesday) Shortly after a very high tide. The stern is sinking in. There are two anchors in the river (tuna balls in the picture) and two dump trucks shore-side.A heavy steel cable from the dump truck to the mast holds her uprightLower waterBig swells, but looking little worse for wear, yetFinally, heavy equipment is brought in to raise the sunken vessel. Very heavy equipment.Raised by crane and pumps, Sunday, October 3, after 8 days in the waterThe 250-foot derrick barge Columbia has a lifting capacity of 400 tons. The tugboats hold it in place against the bulkhead.Lifting slings are off and she floats on her ownTied up at the clam dock, with a dent in her nose from hitting the bulkhead. The real damage is underwater.Floating high - the dirt marks her normal empty waterline. Prior to raising, everything possible was removed: clam dredge and cages, fuel, anchors, etc.Stripped of all equipment, but floatingSeveral weeks later - still at the slip in Point PleasantIn black, as the Victoria Elizabeth, in 2002
