Boat Whose Crew Went Overboard 3 Years Ago Found Across Atlantic

Wave knocked two-man crew overboard

A fishing boat left abandoned when its two-man crew was washed overboard by a wave near Nantucket three years ago has washed ashore in Spain.

The yellow "Queen Bee," encrusted with barnacles and covered with rust, was most likely carried on the Gulf Stream and across the pond, said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Joe Klinker.

"From there it may drift north off the coast of northern Canada and then east with the North Atlantic currents," Klinker told msnbc.com.

Owner Scott Douglas, now 58 and retired in New Jersey, was fishing with his brother-in-law, Rich St. Pierre, off the coast of Nantucket, Mass., in August, 2008, when the wave struck.

The men watched helplessly as the Queen Bee drifted away, figuring they'd never see it again. Douglas swam for more than an hour, making it to shore on a beach near Nantucket. St. Pierre, who had recently had open heart surgery, was lucky to grab a survival kit that contained an inflatable device. He made landfall near the same place.

Neither man thought they would ever see the 26-foot Queen Bee again, until the Coast Guard called to say it had been found.

"It looks entirely different," Douglas said upon seeing the photos. "That's amazing."

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