A boat that was stuck in Bluffton’s May River is floating again. Local crews freed it

Despite days of failed attempts and Mother Nature working against them, local boat and construction crews weren’t giving up on saving a wooden shrimp boat that overturned in Bluffton’s May River almost a week and a half ago.

And Wednesday evening, they were finally successful.

Larry Toomer, owner of Bluffton Oyster Co. and the town’s mayor pro tem, orchestrated the rescue with the help of local boat captain Allick Inglis, Barrier Island Marine Contractor’s Dan Anderson, Eastman Marine Construction’s Ashley Eastman, and their crews.

Toomer found out about the shrimp boat, “Miss Annie,” being overturned in the mouth of the river, just off Bull Island, on Sept. 15 from a neighbor who was out fishing. He hopped in his own boat and went out to evaluate the situation.

In the 11 nights that passed until the boat was floating again, Toomer had trouble sleeping, knowing there was something he and the local crews could do to prevent the situation from becoming worse.

Toomer and the crews were put on hold until the U.S. Coast Guard assessed the situation and removed as much fuel from the vessel and surrounding water as they could. The Coast Guard was out on the water three days last week and finished their job on Sept. 21.

After a few days of unsuccessful attempts, Wednesday was the day everything clicked: The equipment that would work was there, the tides were flowing in the crews’ favor, all hands were on deck, and the plan finally worked.

Crews got out on the water around 9 a.m. and worked through sunset in coordination with the rising and sinking water level to get the boat unstuck and pump all of the water out, Toomer said.

Now, the boat’s docked at Benny Hudson Seafood and Toomer said it will hopefully be back to producing within two to three weeks.

“This is, in my opinion, a happy ending to what could have been a very ugly thing,” Toomer said. “I’m just tickled with what we were able to do and grateful for the belief and respect that those guys had in me and their love and care for our environment to spend their money and time to do a good deed.”