A derelict boat stuck in the mangroves from Hurricane Ian along San Carlos Boulevard, is causing a debate on whether the boat should stay as a reminder of the past, or removed completely as people try to move on toward the future.
"I feel like it should just stay there as a landmark, just to show the devastation," said Cameron Fisher, a tourist visiting from Michigan.
"I mean, driving, driving over there, I mean, it's pretty neat, you know, as a tourist not being from here. I drive over there, you know, have my kids with me or something. I'm like, oh, man, you know, check that out, you know, from the storms that had happened and all the boats, big, huge, you know, $100,000 boat in the trees, basically," said John Rayo.
Not everyone agrees with them Gulf Coast News spoke to a man who knew the owner of the boat, he says he gets asked about it everyday. His businesses is right across from the boat. People used to stop and take pictures, but now people want it gone.
"The first year and a half, we probably had five or 10 even more sometimes stop by, stop in the middle of the road, get out, take a picture and pull into our parking lot, because it was something they could show when they got home," said Robert Leisure, the owner of Getaway Marina. "Nobody stops anymore more, the mangroves are growing up to hide it a little bit and you know old news, old news and it's done."
"I am surprised because it's been there so long that we don't have any idea when it's going to move, what they're going to do. To be honest, in our minds, it's going to stay there forever, mangroves are going to grow up over it, and that's the end of it," Leisure told Gulf Coast News.
Gulf Coast News asked FWC about the derelict boat, they sent us this statement:
"That vessel was one that was displaced by Hurricane Ian. Originally it was on land in the mangroves and not on the water so it was not worked by FWC. Over time it has shifted and ended up on the waters of the state so we did start our derelict vessel removal process. It is currently approved for removal and at the stage of excepting bids from contractors."
People just want to move on to the future.
"I look forward to when they do get it going to just be one more, you know, bad memory that's not there anymore for people to see and we could just start focusing on all the good stuff that's happening," said Peter Ennis, the owner of Snug Harbor.
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