Milwaukee abandoned boat removal, 'Deep Thought' could be gone soon

MILWAUKEE - An abandoned boat that has been stuck on Milwaukee's lakefront for months is on the verge of being freed from its spot just south of Bradford Beach.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson on Wednesday, April 23 announced an anonymous donor has come forward to help fund the removal of a boat that's been abandoned at the lakefront for months. 

The hope was to have the boat removed on Wednesday, but Lake Michigan became too choppy throughout the day. They planned to be back on the lakefront first thing Thursday morning.

A vigil was held for the boat on Wednesday night.

Abandoned boat

The backstory:

There was a lot of confusion surrounding which municipality or agency was responsible for the boat, "Deep Thought," after it washed ashore just south of Bradford Beach in October. 

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The owners, from Mississippi, skipped town after the boat ran out of gas and got stuck in the sand. Efforts to dislodge the boat have been ongoing, with thousands of dollars already spent.

Who's on the hook?

Dig deeper:

The boat's removal was ultimately determined to be Milwaukee County's responsibility. The county set a goal of removing it as soon as this week and plans to be paid back for its removal. It's unclear how the mayor's announcement impacts that decision.

The boat's previous owners live in Michigan and sold it in Manitowoc. Milwaukee County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman said the county's attorneys discovered the new owners skipped town and never actually registered the boat in their names, so they might be off the hook.

"This boat has to be removed. At the end of the day, it’s a safety issue. It has to go," Wasserman said.

What they're saying:

"If all that goes well, and Mother Nature stays calm, it'll be gone today," said Jerry Guyer, who is leading the charge to free the boat.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson announced an anonymous donor stepped up to help pay for the removal of the boat. 

"With the help of an anonymous donor and the efforts of Jerry and his crew," Johnson said. "Means no taxpayers in the county or the city will then have to bear the brunt and the cost of removing it.

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"Probably the fifth time now we've been here on site. Pump the water out. We've tried to pull it with a bigger boat, in fact we've brought three different boats," Guyer said. "This is not our first rodeo."

"It makes our city look so dirty, so nasty, and it’s not," Milwaukee resident Charlissa Smith said. "Where did it come from is the main question. And how did it come all the way right here?"

It has attracted onlookers and graffiti. It even has its own spot on Google Maps. Mya Zolnik and Celia Huber just discovered it.

"We hope they don’t actually end up removing it," Zolnik said. "We have never heard of it until today and now we’re in it."

"Personally, I think it’s kind of fun," Huber said. "I wish we had known about this (I know) because now I’m invested and it’s leaving tomorrow. Now we’re a part of history. Milwaukee history."

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