OWLS HEAD — One sailboat that was heavily damaged in last week’s nor’easter has been hauled off the rocks and towed across Rockland Harbor to get repaired. Another one, which washed up into a small cove at the southwest end of the harbor, is due to be salvaged today, Oct. 28.

The Oct. 21-23 storm that delivered more than three inches of rain and strong northeast winds along Penobscot Bay was strong enough to cause the two boats to break free of their moorings during the storm. Wind and currents sent Aurelia, a 35-foot fiberglass sloop over to the Owls Head side of the harbor, where she washed up against the rocks. The Whisper, a 19-foot sloop, likewise drifted on the waves onto the shore, where her two keels broke off from the hull.

On Saturday, Oct. 24, Rob Iserbyt, of Rockport, packed Aurelia’s cockpit and cabin full of flotation devices, primarily styrofoam buoyancy blocks, and attached a long line to a halyard to pull the boat sideways to port and free the keel, which had lodged onto the rocks.

Iserbyt, who owns the 36-foot classic lobster boat Harvest Moon, doe a variety of marine work. His boat is rigged for charters, but he also dives and uses the Harvest Moon for towing.

The fiberglass sloop Aurelia, of 1970s vintage, had undergone much work this past summer by its owner, including installation of a new motor, said Iserbyt. On Wednesday, Oct. 22, near the height of the storm, onlookers reported watching the vessel break loose from a mooring and drift across the harbor.

After the Aurelia hit the Owls Head ledge, residents near Lowell Lane Ledge there called Ed Glover, who arrived and helped secure the boat through the rest of the storm by setting two anchors and stabilizing her.

After righting and pulling the Aurelia free from the rocks on Oct. 25, Iserbyt slowly towed her back into the harbor towards Journey’s End, which is at the end of Tillson Ave., in Rockland, near the Coast Guard station.

““The boat had a hole below the water line,” he said. “The next problem is that you've got a boat that is basically sinking. But it won't sink to the bottom because of all the flotation you’ve added.”

At Journey’s End, the boat was positioned into the Travel Lift, and pumped out.

“The boat really took a good hit in the storm,” said Iserbyt. “There is a lot of fiberglass damage.”

That damage includes a six-foot crack along the hull.

“He wants to fix it,” said Iserbyt, about the boat’s owner.

Iserbyt said he planned to help the Whisper’s owner fill up the vessel with floatation foam, just as he had done with Aurelia, and then tow that boat either to Knight’s Marine or Journey’s End.

Editorial Director Lynda Clancy can be reached at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657