A 30-foot sailboat ran aground, tipped onto its side and began taking on water in the Warren River earlier this week. 

By Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 23, the boat’s big blue hull protruded from the water just north of the Warren River Bridge, a couple hundred feet from the construction site for the new East Bay Bike Path bridge. The tidal current, strong in that section of the river, did little to budge the boat. 

Kevin Soscia owns the boat. The Warren resident said he had big plans for his boat before trouble surfaced about a week ago. 

Soscia said he had anchored the boat on the Barrington side of the river, a stone’s throw from Sowams Road, but a strong wind pulled the boat off its anchors and set it adrift last week. 

“It got stuck on a sandbar,” Soscia said. “It had been stuck on a sandbar for six days and it finally sank on the sixth day.”

The US Coast Guard visited the vessel on Wednesday afternoon. They sent divers out to the boat to plug up any fittings that might be leaking fuel or other hazardous materials.Then the Coast Guard was back at the site early Thursday morning.

“The plan for today, regarding the Coast Guard’s actions, is to re-float the vessel and get any oil products off-board to prevent any pollution to the area,” said US Coast Guard Marine Science Technician Patrick Laurinaitis.

He said it was not clear whether anything had already leaked into the Warren River. Laurinaitis said Coast Guard personnel had also encircled the boat with a floating tube of absorbent material that is designed to soak up any fuels or other liquids that may leak from the vessel. 

“The Coast Guard’s number one priority is removing pollution from the area,” Laurinaitis said. “The Coast Guard has hired a contractor. Once it gets up, we’re going to take all the oil out and then we’ll go from there.”

On Thursday morning, Coast Guard officials met with Soscia on the bike path near the eastern edge of the Warren River. Soscia brought along doughnuts, muffins, and a box of coffee to share with the Coast Guard personnel. 

“Hopefully it didn’t leak,” Soscia said, pointing out toward the boat. 

The lifelong Rhode Islander said he had big plans for the boat. He said a local marina owner gave him the boat a while back and he has spent months getting ready to move onto the boat full-time. The 69-year-old veteran said he planned to live on the boat. 

“That was going to be my home. Now I’ve got to be out of my apartment. I’m going to be homeless in six days,” Soscia said. 

For the last seven years, Soscia has been living in an apartment in Warren, but now needs to relocate. Soscia said he recently lost his housing aid. Standing near the edge of the river, Soscia vented his frustrations about the situation. He said he had tried to get help once his boat ran aground on the sandbar. 

“The person who was supposed to help me, blew me off,” he said. “I called EPA, DEM, the Coast Guard, the Harbormaster, Warren Fire and Rescue — not one person would help me get it off the sandbar. That’s how it ended up where it is.”

Soscia said he was excited to start the next chapter of his life, moving full-time onto the boat. He loves being on the water — he is an avid fisherman and grew up on the water. 

Shortly after taking ownership of the boat, Soscia said he registered the boat and then began preparing for life aboard the 30-footer. He said there was a heater on-board, a television, a DVD-player, food and a converter for the electricity. Years ago, Soscia had spent a winter living aboard a boat moored off Block Island, he said. 

Now, his future is uncertain. 

“Everything in the boat is destroyed. My heater is under water. My pump is under water. I’m just so screwed,” he said on Thursday morning. 

Barrington Harbormaster Brian Hunt said he was aware of the situation. He said people are allowed to anchor boats, even leaving them unattended at times, in certain areas. He said Soscia’s boat had been “fine" anchored near the western edge of the Warren River. Hunt said boats could not be anchored and left unattended in an area like the Barrington Harbor. 

Hunt said the section of water north of the Warren River Bridge is Warren’s jurisdiction, although he has been helping out with calls for the last few days, as Warren’s Harbormaster Ed Cabral retired on Saturday. Hunt added that boat owners are responsible for moving their boats should they sink or run aground. 

“It’s really big that the Coast Guard is getting involved… they usually don’t get involved unless it’s leaking fuel,” Hunt said. 

Relocated

On Thursday afternoon, about five hours after Soscia brought coffee and doughnuts to the Coast Guard officials, his boat was lifted, pumped out, towed south under the Warren River Bridge, and tied to a town mooring. 

The Coast Guard, working with a contractor, used float bags to lift Soscia’s boat. Its new home is the water just south of Warren Town Beach.

Soscia paddled his canoe out to the boat and climbed aboard. He said the cabin was a mess, but the boat seemed to escape the ordeal mostly unscathed. He said it was not taking on any water and when he checked the engine it did not appear to have any water inside it. 

That gave him hope. 

Soscia would still like to move onto the boat and live there full-time. He has a plan for cleaning up the cabin’s interior and getting rid of the diesel fumes. A source said the U.S. Coast Guard might pick up the tab for lifting Soscia’s boat and towing it to the mooring. Soscia said no one had talked to him yet about the cost associated with Thursday’s work. 

“I don’t have a pot to piss in,” he said. 

Soscia said he hoped to be able to foot the sailboat’s mast soon and begin some minor repairs. He also said he might start a GoFundMe page — he needs to replace the heater and other equipment damaged when the boat sank.

Soscia said he had a name planned for the boat, once he finished with the repairs: “I’m going to name it Black Cloud,” he said.