During summer, hundreds of cars and groups of boats are a common sight at The Cove beach, an area at Brigantine’s southern tip with picturesque views of Atlantic City across the water.
What’s unusual this winter is a lone 34-foot sailboat that has been washed ashore for the past two months, stoking curiosity about its origins while law enforcement considers its future.
An out-of-area college student studying in Massachusetts has been identified as its owner. Officials believe the student may be unable to have the boat returned to the water, Brigantine Mayor Vince Sera told NJ Advance Media.
Meanwhile, city police are prodding the owner for a resolution as a deadline to remove it looms.
In most forsaken boat cases, Brigantine claims possession of the vessel, most of which are disposed of, Sera said. In this instance, the mayor said he hopes a kind-hearted person would be intrigued enough to help.
“We would really like to have someone come help this individual to get it out so they can keep their boat,” Sera said Thursday.
It was unclear if the boat had been being used as a form of housing or for recreational purposes. Brigantine Police Capt. Steven Ward didn’t identify the student but said they attended college in Massachusetts, and that they intended to move the boat to the state.
Since being spotted, the white-and-red-painted sailboat, named “Heavy Traffic,” identifying Brooklyn, New York, as its home port, has become popular on social media. Many have asked questions about its roots, while others share photos of it in local Facebook groups.
Lizanne Crosby, who resides in Brigantine, spotted the boat while glancing at the beach from the bridge. Curious, she and her husband trekked across the sand to see it up close.
Peering in, she found items that spoke to its origins, particularly a schoolbook for biomolecular crystallography.
“There’s something beautiful about it being alone on the beach,” said Crosby, 60, a native of Hackettstown, Pennsylvania. “It just intrigued both of us that we felt like we wanted to be up close to it.”
Investigators learned the red-and-white, 34-foot sailboat, named “Heavy Traffic,” was moored in the Absecon Inlet, the body of water that leads into a large bay and separates Atlantic City and Brigantine, Ward said. It was secured in open water near a local Coast Guard station adjacent to the Golden Nugget casino it broke lose, he said.
City officials are weighing the idea of hiring a contractor if the boat can’t be removed, Sera said. Part of the process also involves the city solicitor examining the legality of confiscating the vessel, he said.
An sailboat, named "Heavy Traffic," rests along The Cove in Brigantine, New Jersey, after being stranded on the frigid sand in late-December.Lizzane Crosby, provided
It became beached at The Cove, a beach at Brigantine’s southern end famous for being drivable. It was reported to city police on Dec. 30, Ward said.
“In the past, we’ve gotten stuck doing this (removing boats), and it costs the city an excess of like $20,000 to remove it and store it,” Ward said.
An investigation began between local authorities and New Jersey State Police, Ward said.
Under New Jersey law, a boat is considered abandoned if it has remained “moored, grounded, docked or otherwise attached or fastened to any public land or waterway or any private property without consent for more than 30 days,” according to the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission.
Abandoned boats are common around the Jersey Shore, provoking lawmakers to sponsor legislation in recent years to resolve the problem. The Garden State doesn’t log how many vessels are deserted in its waterways.
Stories by Eric Conklin
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Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com.