DESTINED TO BE DERELICT? Beached sailboat finally succumbs to the Gulf as ghost boats rear their ugly head (PHOTOS)

After running aground in late October and three months of battery from Gulf waves, the 41-foot Morgan Out Island Sailboat surrendered and rested on the ocean floor, a few dozen yards off shore just west of the West Jetty.

The vessel’s owner, Russ Day, of Massachusetts had purchased the boat with the intention of sailing it for the next five years. This plan was scuttled when he ran the ship aground, trying to navigate the East Pass at night.
Without enough money to remove the boat by hire, Day had hoped to call-to-action the members of Destin’s fishing fleet to rescue the yacht. A number of attempts were made, but none, obviously, were successful.

Captain of the Nathaniel Bowditch, Rex Walley, recognized the need for assistance and spoke with Day about removal. Walley did not have the equipment needed to pull the ship out, but he tried his hardest to set him up with the Destinites who would be able to help.

But Day was not always the easiest person with which to get in touch. At one point, dozens of people had mobilized to help him dig the boat out, but when it came time to put shovels in the sand, Day was not available.

He also was unavailable when The Log attempted to contact him.

Now, pieces of the ship scatter the beach in front of the West Jetty.

For more photos of the vessels, click here.

Beach walkers making their way along the edge of the Pass to the edge of the Gulf will find wood paneling, seat cushions and other remnants of a trip that never happened.

“We helped remove all oil and gas,” said Brue Stippich, Eglin emergency spill response program manager. “Until it has been declared officially abandoned, we have no stake in removing the boat.”

There are a number of procedures that have to happen before the boat is declared “abandoned.” Efforts must be exhausted to contact the person and an announcement must be made to the community.

“Once it’s declared abandoned we’ll get out there and chop it up,” Stippich said.

Unfortunately, this particular vessel is out of the hands of those in the city of Destin who work to remove such vessels. Since it lies on the West side of the pass, it is out of the city’s jurisdiction. Removal of this particular boat requires action from Florida Fish and Wildlife and Eglin Air Force Base. Both of which are in the process of organizing crews to assess the state of the boat on the ocean floor.

Okaloosa County, in the past, has allocated funds to help communities, including Destin, move abandoned boats, and they may do the same this time. But it seems that following procedure as efficiently as possible is the quickest path toward removal.

Two other boats have been sitting in the Destin Harbor and Dave Bazylak, environmental code enforcement manager for the city of Destin, has been working with the necessary channels to remove the crafts as soon as possible.

“It’s a shame that people abuse such a beautiful harbor,” said Walley. “They are taking advantage of a sweet, little port.”

One of the problems encountered is that the owners of abandoned boats have left their vessels because they have been placed in jail. While behind bars, there is no ability, or reason, for the owner to take care of his or her property. Many times, if the person isn’t in jail, they cannot be found at all.

One of the boats in the harbor is a beached houseboat that cannot be deemed a ‘derelict’ because it remains whole, and as far as anyone knows, seaworthy. For the time being, it poses no threat to anyone in the harbor or the environment

But the second boat has given way to weather and wear, and now sits mostly under water. Action is being taken against this particular vessel, whose owner is in jail, Bazylak said.

“The process obviously needs to be expedited,” said Bazylak. “All the parties involved work as hard as they can to move as quickly as possible within the restraints of the law.”

The necessary organizations came together in 2008 to help remove over half a dozen derelict boats from the waters around Destin. Most notably were the large boats from Joe’s Bayou and the Destin Harbor. The effort began in earnest after City Councilman and Capt. Kelly Windes declared the harbor a “marine junkyard” in 2007.

“This is something that has always been an issue,” said Bazylak. “But it has never been as bad as the last couple of years.”

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For more photos from past derelict boat raisings, click here.

To see photos from Destin's derelict days, click here.

To watch a video of a derelict being raised, click here.

To read The Log's take on the topic, click here.

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