NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FL – In a story December 30, 2019, about a buoy washing ashore in Florida, The Associated Press erroneously reported that the buoy was floating in the Atlantic Ocean for two years. The buoy was freed from its South Carolina anchors in 2017 and was placed back off the coast of South Carolina. It escaped the ocean again after Hurricane Dorian in 2019 and was found on Dec. 26.
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A big red navigation buoy washed ashore in Florida, escaping from the Atlantic Ocean for the second time.
Crowds of spectators streamed to New Smyrna Beach over the weekend for a close-up view and some pictures with the navigational marker that some described as “the size of a truck,” news outlets reported.
The beacon is originally from South Carolina and broke free of its mooring during Hurricane Irma in 2017, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported. The buoy landed on Hilton Head Island.
It was put back into commission in the mouth of the Port Royal Sound off the coast of South Carolina and stood its ground for a while until sometime after Hurricane Dorian in 2019, when the buoy was forced off its mooring again.
The Coast Guard removed the buoy Thursday.
The buoy is painted bright red with the number eight painted in white on multiple sides.
Buoys are usually chained to a large piece of concrete that sits on the ocean floor. It's unclear how the beacon got loose.