The sailboat ran aground a few weeks ago off Coma-ruga beach, Tarragona
A shipwreck has become a dangerous playground for bathers in Tarragona who threw themselves from the bow of a sailboat that ran aground a few weeks ago off Coma-ruga beach, despite its degraded condition.
Lifeguards received hundreds of complaints about the alarming practice, and the boat’s owner sharply criticized the city council, saying he had not been helped to raise the stranded boat despite his warnings that the wreckage has become a main attraction for daredevil beachgoers who are plunging the ship deeper into the sand.
The boat, which has been stuck for about a month now, poses a clear danger to the public as its condition is becoming increasingly dangerous with sharp edges and rusty ironwork.
Reports say onlookers, including children, come aboard every day to peek inside the cabin which, although half-submerged in water, has been laid bare by thieves.
El velero varado frente a las costas de Coma-ruga (Tarragona) has converted into an atracción para bañistas que accen a la embarcación a nado. Según informan algunos medios el propietario denuncia que está siendo desvalijado y que no recibe ayuda de la admón. para reflotarlo. pic.twitter.com/wk7sNCGoI1
— DiegoSánchezMartínez (@DiegoSanchezMtz) July 10, 2022
Read also: Drowning is the third cause of accidental death in Spain
And even though the water around the boat is less than two meters deep, swimmers climb onto the bow to jump into the shallow waves.
Justifying the lack of urgency to refloat the boat, the Council of Tarragona said that to remove the chained sailboat, the sand that has accumulated around it must first be dredged and then evacuated by land or sea.
The local authority assured that during this operation, “there will be no risk for the public or for the ecosystem”.
However, the owner of the sailboat plans to take legal action for “the passivity of the administrations”, which hold him responsible for an alleged entry into an unauthorized area.
Now, weeks after the ship ran aground, there is a debate with coastal authorities over the clarity of the signage at the harbor entrance and whether the grounding could have been avoided.
A red flag has been raised on Coma-ruga beach in an effort to prevent this risky behavior.
Now read: How to tell the temperature in Spain from the chirping of crickets
Image: Flickr (not the real boat)