By Cory Nealon Staff reporter
UPDATE: Crews attached two tow lines Tuesday to the grounded barge and began shifting the massive vessel in preparation for a final push during high tide Tuesday evening, when a third tug will join in. A ship official says as high tide --expected at 7:50pm-- approaches, water will be pumped from the ship's ballast tanks, raising the ship higher, and the three tug boats should be able to pull the vessel into the channel.

SANDBRIDGE, Va. -- Work crews think they're hours away from sending a massive barge that ran ashore in Sandbridge during the nor'easter barge back out to sea.

They spent Sunday afternoon connecting tug lines to the 580-foot ship which is owned by Crowley, an international shipping company.

Officials hope the barge will be seaworthy on Monday.

"Their plan is to get lines on it...they anticipate making a first attempt to pull it off tomorrow evening at high tide," says Crowley's Mark Miller.

Down the beach hundreds of people snapped photos of the barge as the sun went down over Sandbridge.

"We thought we'd just come down and take a look at a floating building right here in our neighborhood," says Kirsten Buchanan.

When the barge was first blown off course it wasn't anywhere near the Hampton Roads region. In fact it was only 30-40 miles from its intended destination of Philadelphia. now it's way back down south here in Sandbridge.

Until the barge is ready for the open seas it remains a spectacle on dry land as crowds flock to see the true might of a nor'easter.

"Some people were calling it the storm of the century, the perfect storm, whatever you want to call it - and we got stuck in it,' says Miller.