Blue Rider - Night grounding on the East Jetty, Nantucket Harbor
After an overnight passage from Portland, the sailboat Blue Rider struck the East Jetty entering Nantucket Harbor just after midnight on a high, moonless tide; her three crew were taken off unhurt and she was towed clear by morning.
What happened.
After an overnight passage from Portland, Maine, the sailboat Blue Rider struck the inside of the East Jetty while entering Nantucket Harbor just after midnight on 12 June 2026. On a very high, nearly moonless tide the jetty was almost submerged and difficult to see. The three people aboard were unhurt; Coast Guard Station Brant Point and the Nantucket harbormaster responded, and Tow Boat US pulled the boat clear by morning.
Just after midnight on Friday 12 June 2026, the sailboat Blue Rider was entering Nantucket Harbor at the end of a passage from Portland, Maine when she struck the inside of the East Jetty. According to Coast Guard Master Chief John Lowell, it was a very high tide with little moon illumination, so the jetty was likely almost completely submerged and difficult to see. The three people aboard were unhurt, and there was no indication alcohol was involved. Coast Guard Station Brant Point, led by BM2 Grace Lawter, and a Nantucket Harbormaster crew under Deputy Harbormaster Shane Carey responded, and Tow Boat US pulled the sailboat off the jetty just before 8 a.m. The Blue Rider sustained minor damage above the waterline; her owner was still assessing any damage below it.
What it teaches.
- 1A high tide hides the hazards you most need to see. The jetty was nearly submerged on a high, moonless night and, in the Coast Guard's words, difficult to see. Arriving off an unfamiliar harbour in the dark, treat covered breakwaters and jetties as invisible and navigate by chart, lit marks, and GPS — never by eye alone.
- 2The end of a long passage is the dangerous part. Blue Rider crossed from Portland, Maine only to ground at the entrance just after midnight. Fatigue and the pull to just get in drive night-entry mistakes; heaving-to or standing off until daylight is often the better call.
- 3Identify the marks before you commit to the channel. Pick out the jetty lights, ranges, and buoyed entrance in advance and stay inside the channel. Here the cost was minor damage above the waterline — the same contact a little harder could have holed the hull below it.
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