Capsized Fishing Vessel Hoisted from Ocean in Point Beach

A salvage crew removed the remains of the capsized Atlantic Traveler just before 5 p.m. Monday.

By 5:15 p.m., the vessel had been fully lowered into the depths of the barge, which was expected to take it to New York City tonight.

The tedious job of getting a 64-foot commercial fishing vessel out of the ocean was handled by two divers drilling holes into the hull, connecting cables through the holes and to the mammoth crane extended from the barge.

That work followed the work of a mammoth claw, extending from a barge at the scene of the capsized boat, that had been removing stray pieces of wreckage from in front of the rock jetty in northern Point Beach.

The pieces, draped in thick, green seaweed, had been submerged near the remains of the capsized commercial fishing vessel.

The Don Jon Marine Co. barge  removed the capsized Atlantic Traveler, which has been in the water since .

Spectators on the jetty, beach and boardwalk watched on Monday afternoon as crews, monitored closely by the Coast Guard, worked to remove the wreckage.

When the boat capsized on May 11, it was just to the north of the end of the rock jetty and forced the Coast Guard to limit inlet traffic.

However, after a few days the remains floated over to the ocean side of the jetty and was no longer impeding inlet traffic.

The 64-foot Atlantic Traveler capsized after losing its steering and scraping up on the jetty rocks.

Three crew members, William "Skip" Hill, 58, Brick; Matthew Morris, 19, Point Pleasant; and William A. Lewis, 30, Marshallberg, N.C., were safely rescued by the Coast Guard.

Hill was at the scene Monday, watching the salvage process.

Rough seas and strong winds had repeatedly scuttled plans for a salvage crew to remove the boat owned by John Cole, who has declined comment.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.