January 13, 2015 — The F/V Westward, which has been moored in Boothbay Harbor since 2012, appears to be headed to Portland after its latest mishap has left it without a mooring.
Early Friday, Jan. 9, the Westward broke loose in high winds from the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard mooring where it has been secured for most of the last two years. It then drifted shoreward and ran aground near the shipyard.
Fuller Marine Services towed the vessel back out into the harbor, where it was ultimately attached to the Coast Guard mooring. This was the second “walkabout” for the Westward, which broke free from the same mooring in October 2013 and was retrieved before grounding by lobsterman Bill Hallinan.
The Westward has been a subject of concern for both the local Harbormaster Nick Upham and for other harbor watchers.
Owner James Sheehy claimed in a Boothbay Register interview last June that he expected to complete needed repairs at the local shipyard and return the vessel to fishing by the end of summer.
Boothbay Harbor Shipyard Manager Eric Graves indicated then that he hoped to complete work on the vessel, as well. But summer turned to fall and then winter and still the Westward remained.
On Friday, when the Westward was once again adrift, it had no mooring to return to as it had in 2013. Harbormaster Upham said the local shipyard was no longer willing to allow Sheehy to use its mooring so the vessel was temporarily secured on the Coast Guard’s mooring.