Call it Ishmael.... A gigantic Canadian buoy took quite a voyage, ending up 3,000 miles away in Ireland.
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The Mayo County Council in Ireland is calling the behemoth buoy an "unusual visitor" as they figure out a way to recover it from the coastline. It's no small task, as the county pointed out in a press release. They estimate the Canadian Coast Guard buoy that washed up on Achill Island weighs in at 3.8 tons.
"Following contact with the Canadian Coast Guard, Mayo County Council was informed that their buoys are known to be 'very friendly' and occasionally develop a habit of traveling far from home," officials joked in the press release.
Clever quips aside, the massive buoy is also a cause for concern. The Mayo County Council is hustling to engineer a way to get it off the shore. Officials fear the gargantuan hunk of metal that journeyed across the Atlantic may be a major hazard to ships and infrastructure in the area if it manages to drift off shore.
Canada Lends a Hand in Efforts to Relocate Its Massive Buoy That Washed Ashore in Ireland
That said, Irish officials won't be going at it alone. The Canadian Coast Guard is also lending its expertise to the situation.
"We have been working closely with the Canadian Coast Guard, who have provided valuable technical information to assist with the operation," the director of services with responsibility for marine at Mayo County Council, David Mellett, explained via the press release.
Mellett even managed to put a positive spin on the ordeal.
"This is an unusual occurrence. It also serves as a reminder of the strong historical and contemporary links between Mayo and Canada, connections that continue to endure across the Atlantic," he added.
It isn't clear just how the buoy was set off course or exactly how far it traveled. However, the voyage from Canada to Ireland across the Atlantic clocks in at 3,000 miles.
Meanwhile, the eventual permanent home for the 3.8-ton buoy hasn't been zeroed in on just yet. That said, officials in Ireland are open to the Canadian Coast Guard bringing the "unusual visitor" home.
They'll just have to make the arragnements...
"Should the Canadians wish to see their buoy again, they may have to make a special trip to Mayo to collect it," the Mayo County Council in Ireland joked.
