Coast Guard Station Chatham’s new 24-foot Special Purpose Craft- Shallow Water sits on its trailer in Chatham after being unloaded from the flatbed it was transported on Tuesday, May 30, 2017. The boat was transported from Station Lake Tahoe, Tahoe City, California, to enhance Station Chatham’s search and rescue capabilities. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Senior Chief Petty Officer Corbin Ross)
CHATHAM – The Coast Guard Station in Chatham has received a 24-foot vessel that will navigate shallow waters in shoaling sandbars near the shore.
The new boat comes from the Coast Guard station on Lake Tahoe, Nevada and it has the ability to run right up onto the beach.
Coast Guard Chatham Station Senior Chief Corbin Ross said that the new vessel will help solve one of the Cape’s biggest issues, rescuing people on beaches that are inaccessible by vehicle.
“This is going to really help us out as far as getting to some of the folks that enjoy spending their afternoons on the beach and every once in a while, when things don’t work out exactly the way they want, they need the Coast Guard to show up and help out and this will allow us to do that,” said Ross.
But in most cases, Coast Guard Station Chatham is unable to make the rescue because the sandbars get in the way and the water is too shallow.
“A lot of times the sand shifts around and maybe where we had four feet of water last weekend, you may have only two feet of water this weekend, so the larger vessels aren’t able to get in and actually beach in order to help people out if they need it,” said Ross.
The new boat is propelled by a jet drive that takes in water and expels it through a nozzle and can operate in only 3 and a half feet of water.
About CapeCod.com NewsCenter
