From a Worthing Herald report
”A MASSIVE clean-up operation is underway after 2,000 tons of timber washed up on Worthing’s beaches.
Giant mountains of wood have hit almost every beach along the town’s coastline, drawing visitors from across Sussex. Here is a video clip showing the scale of the problem, and here's a slide show.
The timber comes from the cargo ship Ice Prince, which was on its way to Egypt when it sank 25 nautical miles south of Portland on Monday.
Her crew of 20 was rescued, but around half of the timber they were transporting was lost to the sea.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is warning the public not to attempt to salvage any of the timber, although people have been seen loading wood into trucks (tut!) from beaches in Goring and East Worthing.
Alison Kentuck, receiver of wreck, said: “The owners of the ship have appointed their own salvage company to come and retrieve the timber. I understand they will then try to sell it on.
“We are trying to get out the message that people need to stay safe and not attempt to take any of the timber from the beach. “It is illegal and the police are taking a hard line on this. Anyone found to be doing so could be fined quite heavily. “There have been people trying to do so, but when you explain their legal rights, most of them understand.”
As Worthing residents learned what was going on, thousands flocked to the beach to take a look at what many believed was a once-in-a-lifetime sight.
Dozens could be seen taking photographs and many just stood watching in amazement at the sheer scale of what had happened. Helen Moules, 50, of Thalassa Road, said: “It is just absolutely fascinating and the smell the wood is giving off is gorgeous – it certainly makes a change from seaweed.
Her neighbour, Margaret Finley, 64, said: “We’ve seen people carrying wood off home. It just goes to show how strong the tide and winds are to bring all this wood here.”
”I did just encounter one parking attendant though who didn’t realise what was happening. He thought this was to stop the seawater from causing floods. It was so funny. I couldn’t believe he didn’t know.”
It is thought the operation to rescue all the planks, many of which are six metres long, could take weeks.
Don’t miss the Worthing Herald’s eight page souvenir special called “Planks for the memory”!!”
Oh, and it’s a 600 mile round trip for me. I did glance over the cliff top here on the East Yorkshire coast today just in case!
-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business.
15 comments so far
GaryK
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8486 posts in 473 days
posted 262 days ago
I saw that on the news here. Too bad you can’t take any.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
rikkor
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7673 posts in 360 days
posted 262 days ago
2,000 tons! That’s a lot of lumber.
-- Maplewood, MN
Grumpy
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5660 posts in 336 days
posted 262 days ago
There’s a few match sticks in all that lumber Stewart.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
scottb
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2943 posts in 812 days
posted 262 days ago
a rare sight indeed! Wow!
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/
GaryK
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8486 posts in 473 days
posted 262 days ago
Just think of how many full sized chairs you could build with that.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
TomFran
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2360 posts in 479 days
posted 262 days ago
Wow, how did the ship sink? Too bad you couldn’t get a truck load of that, Stewart!
Maybe the salvage company will sell it to the public at bargain prices ;^D
-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28
RobS
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1107 posts in 792 days
posted 262 days ago
let me over there, I have experience with those types of projects..like this and this
-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX
dalec
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458 posts in 374 days
posted 262 days ago
My Wife’s family had a vacation home North of Seattle for many years. We would get a number of logs that would be washed up on the beach from winter storms. Nothing of this scale. The few logs that would come in were so few that owners would not even bother looking for them.
Aside from salvage issue for the owners and the legal issues for people trying to illegally salvage the logs, it looks like it would be a pretty dangerous working in and among that tangle of logs.
Dalec
mrtrim
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1548 posts in 365 days
posted 262 days ago
man ! all we ever get is bales of pot and cocain washing up on our beaches !! (and cubans ) lol
Jamie
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131 posts in 299 days
posted 262 days ago
It kinda looks like my floor after I use my planer… :)
-- Jamie, Kentucky
cajunpen
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5348 posts in 551 days
posted 262 days ago
That is interesting. Probably all construction grade lumber – watch for the price of lumber to go up in Europe.
-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/
Douglas Bordner
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2555 posts in 549 days
posted 262 days ago
Not precisely what Anne Morrow Lindbergh had in mind when she wrote “Gift From the Sea”.
-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.
RobS
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1107 posts in 792 days
posted 261 days ago
Gives new meaning to the phrase “all a-board”, yeah, like “all” is right.
-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX
Dorje
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1745 posts in 482 days
posted 261 days ago
That’s really something!
-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA
Blake
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2016 posts in 359 days
posted 260 days ago
Maybe we should advertise our “2×4 Challenge” in the local paper over there. I bet we’d get a few thousand more members.
-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com