A stranded 40-year-old boat on the shores of Milwaukee's Bradford Beach has become an unofficial city landmark and an artistic canvas that locals are falling in love with despite its location.
The vessel, named Deep Thought, has been resting on the frozen beach collecting its thoughts since October 13th, 2024. That's 165 days of meditation while the city figures out what to do.
In the meantime, the boat is so popular its become a pilgrimage for locals and tourists. The boat was decorated for Christmas with wreaths, garland, and stockings, while local graffiti artists have used it for a blank canvas with surprisingly impressive results.
The city and the boat's owners may not be pleased, but the boat has enjoyed a warmer reception than most abandoned vessels.
Since it crash landed in October, Wisconsin's news outlets have been publishing headlines documenting the boat's progression, both artistically and politically. The city's inability to get it removed has made stories in the Milwaukee Record, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, TMJ4 Milwaukee, and even national outlets like Yahoo News.
Local photographer Mike De Sisti amassed an entire album of the best images of Deep Thought for the Journal Sentinel which continue to make rounds in the boating community.
Deep Thought even has its own virtual marker on Google Maps, where its dubbed 'The Minnow' in ode to the famously stranded vessel from Gilligan's Island.
The boat is a Chris-Craft Roamer -- a classic cruiser known for its timeless design and quality construction. While early versions were made with wood or fiberglass, later iterations were made with aluminum and steel. The Roamer was available in 40, 46, 53, and 58 feet. It appears the one on Bradford Beach is on the shorter side, likely a 46.
Jerry Guyer, a marine specialist told local outlet TMJ4 Milwaukee, “it’s a 40-year-old boat, but they made boats really strong back then."
“It’s stuck in the sand. It’s a large boat—it must be 17, if not 20-something thousand pounds.”
Guyer has spent over $18,000 trying to get the boat off the beach. One attempt snapped a $1000 rope that proved more dangerous than expected. According to Guyer, the owners have stopped answering calls and he's worried he may not be paid for his work. The owners purchased the boat in Manitowoc and planned to take it to their home in Mississippi via the Mississippi River.
While the boat is now an unofficial landmark, because it's empty of fuel and stuck securely on the beach, it poses little hazard.
“They ran out of fuel, so there's no danger there, and it’s on the beach," Guyer told TMJ4 Milwaukee. “It’s not breaking up, it’s made of aluminum and there’s no other pollution effect at this point.”
“I’m concerned about the safety of the boat sitting there and people messing with it. It can be dangerous,” he added.
According to other local outlets, despite the attention the boat is getting there's little that can be done to force the owners to remove it. A small ticket for littering is one of the few recourses available.
Shortly after the boat landed, the U.S. Coast Guard was notified and began efforts to remove it almost immediately. But when the weather didn't cooperate, progress has dragged on to the merriment of locals.
The Milwaukee Record has been tracking the evolution of Deep Thought with tongue-in-cheek humour, noting that as winter set in, the vessel began gaining new details (while losing others). "Godspeed, boat. Actually, no. Please stay where you are. Forever and ever. It’s the little things like you that make this town so fun and ridiculous," they said.
In a January article for the Journal Sentinel, Guyer said he has yet to talk with the boat owners. He only knows the local man who sold them the boat. He assumed they would want the boat and their personal possessions back, which included a kayak tied to the foredeck, that has since disappeared.
Guyer went even so far as to remove all their personal items -- books, clothing, and small appliances -- and dry them out on the assumption they'd end up back with their owners.
“I figured at some point the owners would want them back,” Guyer told the Sentinel. “It’s not looking like that’s going to happen.”
Yahoo News eventually identified the owners in January, who told the outlet they were headed to Milwaukee's McKinley Marina for two nights and were following their GPS as they approached their destination. But the boat suddenly ran out of fuel as they were in sight of the US Bank building, a well-known landmark in downtown Milwaukee, and a storm began to approach. They attempted to throw their anchor and wait out the storm, but were unsuccessful and eventually drifted ashore. Surprisingly the pair spent two nights aboard Deep Thought after it ran ashore, talking with the marina about what to do. There are conflicting versions of events regarding what transpired on that stormy night in October.
For the time being, it seems Deep Thought will stay dormant while it collects new artistic details. It's not out of sight either, as Bradford Beach uses the slogan "American's most accessible beach."
The boat's propeller is buried 2-3 feet in the sand, and with Milwaukee's icy winter, the notion of dragging it back into the water by force is simply off the table.
But with spring now here, and summer to follow, the city of Milwaukee will likely have to make a decision.
If they don't, Deep Thought will be a hub for picnics, selfies, and hasty art classes on the shores of America's most accessible beach. #news #culture
