Running Free came ashore at Norton Point Friday night.
Mark Lovewell

Abandoned Sailboat Washes Ashore at Norton Point

Salvage plans are under way for an abandoned 36-and-a-half-foot sailboat that washed up at Norton Point beach on Friday night. No one was aboard the Running Free, which was abandoned in the Bermuda Triangle on Mother’s Day.

Salvage plans are under way for an abandoned 36-and-a-half-foot sailboat that washed up at Norton Point beach on Friday night.

No one was aboard the Running Free, which was abandoned in the Bermuda Triangle on Mother’s Day.

An earlier report by the Gazette that the sailboat had been the subject of a Coast Guard rescue near Charleston, S.C. was inaccurate.

Sailboat was abandoned in Bermuda Triangle in May.
Mark Lovewell
Sailboat was abandoned in Bermuda Triangle in May.
Mark Lovewell

The sailboat’s owner, Bill Heldenbrand of St. Joseph, Mo., told the Gazette Monday he was sailing alone from Green Cove Springs, Fla. in early May with the ultimate goal of crossing the Atlantic Ocean. His trip didn’t go as planned. Instead, after seven days at sea, the novice sailor encountered high winds and huge seas three-quarters of the way to Bermuda.

Mr. Heldenbrand was rescued by a passing oil tanker and forced to abandon the sailboat. The tanker took him to Quebec City. The Running Free drifted to places unknown — until Friday, when Mr. Heldenbrand received a phone call from Nancy and Bruce Hulme, who spotted the sailboat coming ashore.

“We were sitting on the beach when it approached the shore and we contacted the Coast Guard when it was clear no one was aboard,” Mr. and Mrs. Hulme said in an email to the Gazette. The couple looked up the owner of the boat online and reached out to him via Facebook.

Mr. Heldenbrand said that he is driving from Georgia to Cape Cod to retrieve the sailboat, which he has arranged to have towed to Falmouth.

That move may be completed as early as Monday evening, he said, though a previous attempt on Sunday to free the sailboat from its sandy berth proved unsuccessful.

“It was a surprise that it beached itself on Martha’s Vineyard,” Mr. Heldenbrand said. “I am hoping to get it off the beach and get some repairs.”

A previous version of this story mistakenly identified the sailboat as one that was abandoned near South Carolina last month.

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 07/21/2013 - 12:10

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

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AJ CT

I came across this boat in the middle of the atlantic ocean June 18th...I have plenty of pictures. The cruise ship I was on boarded the sailboat and then just left it...

AM CT

We were also on that same cruise ship when it came upon this boat and stopped to send the search and rescue crew to
see if anyone was on board. Everyone on the ship had a different scenerio going.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 07/09/2013 - 10:52

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Sue Cimmino Palm Harbor, FL

It decided to vacation on the Vineyard after being abandoned in the Bermuda Triangle. Great choice of a vacation spot!!!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 07/09/2013 - 18:23

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Denise DC

Would love to see a future Gazette story what sea currents might have pushed the boat on its path to the Vineyard. Was it sighted anywhere else as it made its way to the Island?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 07/09/2013 - 19:40

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Rob Pittsburgh Pa

Our cruise ship the Celebrity Summit enroute to Bermuda from Bayonne on June 17 stopped,searched for survivors,and proceeded on after notifying Coast Guard of sighting empty vessel.Many of us thought of salvage but none of us had a spare sail in our suitcases.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 07/10/2013 - 11:33

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Manning Harvey Charleston, SC

Very interesting. Again this shows that the vessels are built well enough to take most conditions mother nature and the sea will throw at them. It's the Captain and crew that give up so quickly. I think before you start a voyage in a small sailboat in the ocean every sailor should read "Fastnet Force 10" and then decide if you are up to the challenge of a small boat voyage.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 07/15/2013 - 23:12

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Someone That He Used To Know

This Captain gives up quickly on many things that don't suit his lifestyle. Alone...in the Bermuda Triangle...

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 07/31/2013 - 22:45

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Amy K Denver, CO

Bill, I wondered who you were, if you were alive after hearing about Running Free from a passanger on the Celebrity cruise ship in Bermuda. I watched the search on YouTube. So interesting. Good luck!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 07/31/2013 - 22:53

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Amy K Denver, CO

Bill, I wondered who you were, if you were alive after hearing about Running Free from a passanger on the Celebrity cruise ship in Bermuda. I watched the search on YouTube. So interesting. Good luck!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 07/01/2015 - 03:06

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Capn Bob's First Mate

my grandpa lost a pearson 365 in marilyn in '95.

man those pictures bring back memories. RIP Thor and Cap'n Bob

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