Outrigger canoes' owners sought
By JOHN DOHERTY, Standard-Times staff writer
JOHN SLADEWSKI/Standard-Times special
Two Hawaiian-style outrigger canoes have been left on the town beach on West Island in Fairhaven. Harbormaster Gary Golas is worried that they might be damaged or stolen. |
FAIRHAVEN -- When Harbormaster Gary Golas first saw them, he had to remind himself where he was: on a West Island beach, not Maui.
There on the town beach were two unusual canoes: 21st-century fiberglass versions of the traditional outriggers, with a narrow body and a pontoon arched out to one side.
"All I could think was maybe we had an undiscovered tribe on the outside of West Island," Mr. Golas said.
"I was thinking of natives arriving at midnight, running through the town."
The 25- to 30-foot canoes have been on the beach for at least a month.
They are locked up, he said, but he still fears that someone could make off with them if they had a mind to.
A canvass of neighbors turned out no definitive leads about the owners, although there is a rumor that they might have something to do with UMass Dartmouth's campus in the South End of New Bedford.
Mr. Golas is asking anyone who has information about the canoes to contact the Fairhaven police at (508) 997-7421.
Otherwise, he said, he will take the boats into custody for safekeeping.
"They shouldn't be on the beach, and they look expensive," he said.
This story appeared on Page A7 of The Standard-Times on September 10, 2004.
|
|
