Busted Boat Washed Ashore, Tied Up in New Bedford

Can somebody please explain to me why people keep dumping boats here on the SouthCoast?

When you use the side of the highway or a hidden shoreline as your dumping site, that's saying something about who you are as a human being.

Earlier today, I got a tip that there was an abandoned boat in New Bedford that had washed up onto a sandy shore near Kyler's Catch, towards the very end of Washburn Street. Located right below 195 eastbound, it's pretty hidden but becomes visible once you park by the LET.

I laced up an old pair of boots and began wading through the muck to get a closer look. As I approached the boat, it was obvious that someone or some people were using the inlet as a place to party and hang out. Beer cans, liquor bottles and nips blanketed the ground, polluting the sand and surrounding water.

The boat was clearly banged up pretty bad and was severely trashed, but something out of the ordinary caught my eye: the boat, or what was left of it, was actually tied up to a secure line that wrapped around a nearby tree.

It was obvious that someone was using it for either an encampment or just wanted to keep it from floating off. I scoured the wreck from top to bottom, but couldn't locate any Hull Identification Number and the registration was scratched off clean. This boat was abandoned and disposed of improperly.

A thick scent of oil and gasoline filled the surrounding area and that's when I noticed the saturated ground all around the boat. The distinctive shimmering color indicated that oil was spilled and it covered a pretty good area.

All of the seats, the steering wheel, the engine, and the inner compartments were all ripped out and the frame was deteriorated, leaving me to believe that it might have been there for quite some time. However, the rope seemed relatively new.

In a nutshell, please stop dumping boats where you please, whoever you are. Love where you live; your unnecessary trash is unwanted and destroying our waterfronts.