Mysterious boat anchors itself off Flagler Beach, officials investigate
FLAGLER BEACH — Officials are trying to figure out what a boat is doing planted off shore south of the Flagler Beach Pier.
The vessel had elevated itself off the surf Thursday evening a few hundred yards south of the city's shuttered pier. But Flagler Beach City Manager Dale Martin said Friday the vessel had nothing to do with the pier.
He thinks the boat is related to an undersea cable project that is supposed to come ashore in the area, but he's working to confirm that.
The vessel is a dive boat named the Polly L, according to marinetraffic.com. It is 22 meters long and 12 meters wide or 72 feet by 39 feet.
The boat left St. Augustine and headed south earlier Thursday.
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As for the pier, Martin said crews are expected to start mobilizing in two weeks to begin taking down the battered Flagler Beach Pier. Once it's removed, they will start building the new pier.
The project should take about 18 months, so the new pier is projected to be open by December 2026.
While there has been news about changes at FEMA under the Trump administration, there is no indication that the $18 million in funding for the Flagler Beach Pier project is at risk.
FEMA will fund 75% of the project while the Department of Emergency Management will fund 12.5% and the Department of Environmental Protection will fund another 12.5% .
'The city hasn't had any word that that funding is in jeopardy or has been reduced or anything at all,' Martin said.
City Commissioner Scott Spradley also said he did not anticipate any issues with federal funding for the pier project.
Spradley said in a phone interview Thursday that the money was already designated for the pier and it was highly unlikely that would change.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Flagler Beach queries mysterious boat rising off surf near pier
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