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Accident at Scott Boatyard captures island’s attention
By IRENE NOLAN Photos By Lane Du Pont  An accident on Tuesday morning, Dec. 4, at Scott Boatyard at Buxton harbor has gotten a lot of attention from Hatteras islanders this week. Islanders have taken many photographs of the private boat, Due Course, out of Point Pleasant, N.J., sitting askew on its stern, which was partially submerged in the harbor’s waters. Sheryl Branstetter, who owns the boatyard with her husband Daniel, said the boat was towed there last month by Paul Rosell after it ran aground in Pamlico Sound. The 57-foot boat was built by Ricky Scarborough in Wanchese and, according to U.S. Coast Guard records, is owned by Kenneth L. Avon of Point Pleasant, N.J. “There was a lot of damage to the boat,” Sheryl Branstetter said. “It was too much for our little yard.” The plan, she said, was for Scott Boatyard to repair the running gear and re-launch the boat to send it to a larger yard for further repairs. The re-launch was Tuesday morning, and Daniel Branstetter was at the controls of the launching gear when a launch ramp collapsed, sending the boat crashing onto the ramp and into the water -- still in the strap used to lift it. Sheryl said her husband thought he would die. The area on the ramp where he was standing was crushed by the impact of the boat, but he was not injured. The Branstetters can’t say enough about those who came to help them. Danny and Darren Burrus from Cape Dredging, she said, were on the scene almost immediately. Hydraulic fluid was leaking into the harbor and they provided equipment to help contain it. Shortly after that, the U.S. Coast Guard was on the scene to supervise the containment of pollutants. “They were professional but not officious,” Sheryl said. “They were really great.” The boat sat at its skewed angle in the Buxton harbor for several days, while the Branstetters located the equipment needed to lift it out. Two cranes were needed to lift the boat. They came from a Raleigh company that just happened to have one of the cranes on Ocracoke. On Friday, Dec. 7, the Due Course was towed out of Scott Boatyard, headed back to its Wanchese builder. The Branstetters are now turning their attention to repairing the boatyard, which is the only one on the island and heavily used by commercial, charter, and recreational boaters. 
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