Boaters Rescued After Sail’s Mast Gets Stuck Under Pt. Pleasant Canal Bridge

Crews rescue a sailboat wedged under the Route 88 bridge in Point Pleasant Borough, June 6, 2025. (Credit: Point Pleasant Borough Fire Department)

Local rescue teams, the United States Coast Guard, and private towers were able to free a sailboat that became wedged under the Route 88 bridge Friday morning.

According to a statement from the Point Pleasant Borough Fire-Rescue department, Friday morning at 6:49 a.m., the station’s Water Rescue Team responded with its rescue boat and shore-based truck to the canal underneath the Route 88 canal bridge after a boat lost power.

Crews rescue a sailboat wedged under the Route 88 bridge in Point Pleasant Borough, June 6, 2025. (Credit: Point Pleasant Borough Fire Department)

---

Get Daily Island News Updates Your email address:* Please enter all required fields Correct invalid entries

Crews rescue a sailboat wedged under the Route 88 bridge in Point Pleasant Borough, June 6, 2025. (Credit: Point Pleasant Borough Fire Department)

The Point Pleasant Police Department, NJ State Police, and the United States Coast Guard also responded after the sailing vessel had “unrecoverable engine failure” as it approached the bridge, causing the boat to drift without power under the span, where its mast got wedged between the steel structures of the bridge.

The Coast Guard crew dispatched TowBoatUS, and once the imperiled vessel was safely secured, the bridge span was raised, and the boat was safely towed out of the canal.

No injuries were reported.

Crews rescue a sailboat wedged under the Route 88 bridge in Point Pleasant Borough, June 6, 2025. (Credit: Point Pleasant Borough Fire Department)

“Thanks goes out to all agencies involved in this morning’s incident,” the fire department said in its statement.