A stranded motorboat has become an unlikely fixture on Chicago's North Avenue Beach after a mid-July Lake Michigan storm left it disabled and buried in sand. A volunteer rescue effort drew about a dozen people Thursday, but the boat still refused to move.
Lenny Klinger, who owns and captains Sea No Evil, and the others aboard were rescued after large waves knocked out the boat's electricity and engines. The U.S. Coast Guard cut the anchor because conditions were too dangerous for a tow, and the vessel washed onto the beach the following day, according to Block Club Chicago.
The recovery attempt had all the ingredients of a very Chicago engineering project: a tow boat, a water pump, an excavator and a trench dug through the sand. Volunteers pulled on ropes tied to a converted Navy SEAL utility boat, but the hull remained lodged and its position perpendicular to the shoreline gave the crew little leverage.
The Chicago Park District has been monitoring the scene while Klinger tries to coordinate the removal himself. The district requires the owner of a disabled vessel to arrange and pay for its removal, and officials have said the boat's structural condition and the surrounding water conditions remain uncertain, Block Club Chicago reported.
The stranded boat has also attracted a rotating cast of helpers and spectators. Michael Khrin first spotted it while setting up volleyball nets, Keith Kocher joined after seeing Klinger on television, and a local boating company supplied equipment for the attempted tow.
Klinger has reportedly slept aboard Sea No Evil since it came ashore and says he plans one final attempt to dig it out and tow it back toward Diversey Harbor on Friday. He is an amputee, and he said he broke his prosthetic leg during the recovery work; he also said the boat is uninsured and is the fifth vessel he has gone through in three years.
The Boat Could Become A Costly Legal Problem
Illinois law does not treat an abandoned boat on a public beach as a harmless eyesore. State law prohibits abandoning watercraft on public property and allows law enforcement to authorize removal when a vessel is abandoned, creates a hazard or interferes with navigation, according to the Illinois General Assembly.
The financial burden generally follows the boat. Guidance from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources says an owner is responsible for towing and storage costs when removal is authorized, while the Chicago Park District has warned that Klinger could face additional fines if the vessel remains abandoned.
For now, Sea No Evil remains on the sand, turning a routine beach day into a reminder that Lake Michigan can deliver a rescue operation one week and a stubborn salvage job the next. If Friday's effort fails, the next chapter could shift from neighborhood ingenuity to a formal removal handled at the owner's expense.
