Here's what we know about the boat abandoned for 164 days and counting in Milwaukee
Love it hate it, the abandoned boat on the Lake Michigan shoreline has become a popular destination spot, with far too many taking the liberty to jump on board, damage the interior or leave behind graffiti or other messages.
Deep Thought was abandoned Oct. 13, after owners Sherry and Richard Wells, of Mississippi, purchased it in Manitowoc, then ran out of gas in Milwaukee.
Here's a recap on how the boat got here and why it's still gracing the Lake Michigan shoreline.
Yes, the Wells should cover the cost to have the boat pulled from the sand or salvaged, according to Jerry Guyer, the owner salvage company Silo Marina in Milwaukee. The U.S. Coast Guard also has confirmed it is the responsibility of boat owners to pay for its removal.
However, the Wells indicated in an interview with the Journal Sentinel that after spending $12,000 to buy the boat in Manitowoc and then thousands more to get it ready to take home, they were short on cash. They returned to Mississippi and were talking with Guyer about hiring him to salvage it, but have stopped returning his calls, according to Guyer. A GoFundMe account was briefly created but is no longer active.
The Wells spoke to the Journal Sentinel in early January. They explained how they had planned to purchase the boat, then spend two nights docked at McKinley Marina. With no prior experience boating on a Great Lake, the couple arrived offshore in Milwaukee around sunset during a thunderstorm and low on fuel.
They missed the marina entrance, they struggled to find it after calling marina staff for help. They ran out of gas and ended up just north of the marina and south of Bradford Beach. They spent two nights on the boat, then returned to Mississippi.
Their plan was to ride the boat home, then live on it permanently when they retired.
No insurance money is coming in, either. The boat had last been surveyed by an insurance company over a year ago, making that survey too outdated for the Wells' agent in Mississippi. The plan was to get the boat home, then insure it, the couple said.
By the end of October, someone had stuck an "I Closed Wolski's" sticker on the boat. By December, Deep Thought had its own Google Maps entry called "The Minnow," telling people exactly where to find it. The boat now is covered in graffiti. Not all of what's written is what parents want their children reading during a trip to the beach.
Guyer, the salvage company owner, said the propeller was lodged 2- to 3-feet deep in the sand when he last tried to break the boat free at the end of December.
Guyer said he and his crew are ready with a plan. They just need a few days of little to no wind. Then, the plan is to dredge out sand from beneath the boat, while simultaneously removing water from the vessel. A separate boat would be ready nearby to pull it loose and out into the lake, before it is brought to shore.
The boat's location along the Lake Michigan shoreline appears to have landed it in jurisdictional no-man's land.
The Mississippi couple was headed to the county's McKinley Marina when they missed the entry and ran out of gas, but Jeff Orlowski, the Milwaukee County Parks' director of recreation and business services, said the boat is "not a county issue."
He said the boat is a U.S. Coast Guard issue.
But that's not the case, either, according to Lt. j.g. Santiago Tamburini, the public affairs officer for Sector Lake Michigan U.S. Coast Guard.
Tamburini said the Coast Guard gets involved in search-and-rescue situations, which this is not. However, the Coast Guard is checking on the boat to make sure it is not leaking gas or other fluids, which is a Coast Guard responsibility, he said.
Guyer sent an email to Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson on Tuesday, requesting assistance.
Jeff Fleming, the mayor's spokesman, confirmed Guyer sent an email seeking assistance with what Fleming said "sounds like a complicated situation."
"We are certainly interested in hearing him out, to the extent we can be helpful," Fleming told the Journal Sentinel. "We are not in position to provide city, taxpayer-funded resources. But to the extent we can be helpful in other ways, we are certainly open to having discussions. We understand his frustrations."
Guyer said he has the people and equipment "ready to go."
"I just need somebody from somewhere to apply pressure to help me get this finished," he said in reference to the mayor.
Jessica Van Egeren covers abandoned boats and other topics of interest for the Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at jvanegeren@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee abandoned boat: Here's what we know after five months
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