Boat stuck in Grove City backyard after Hurricane Milton

While some people deal with power problems after Hurricane Milton, others still have major issues with boats.

Steve Hannah, a Charlotte County homeowner, said his boat broke free during Milton and wound up in his neighbor’s backyard.

“Emotionally, there’s just, it’s, it’s almost indescribable,” said Hannah.

After taking a couple of years to rebuild from Hurricane Ian, he came back to his home destroyed again, and his boat in someone else’s yard.

“At that point, it was like, I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to fight Mike Tyson back in the day, you know, when he’s just peppering you, and you’re like, ‘OK, man, you win.’ But this, this is what it feels like,” said Hannah.

But the house wasn’t his only concern.

“I had a buddy of mine who called me up and said, ‘Man, you’re not gonna believe this, but someone just posted your boat on Facebook,'” said Hannah.

His boat, which broke free from the dock, is now in his neighbor’s yard a few houses down.

“We don’t know how extensive the damage is until we bring it in and get them worked on,’ said Grove City resident Mike Connaughton. “But this boat is sitting on top of the electrical panel that controls both of those lifts, so I can’t even put the boats down in the water to take them somewhere, to get them looked at.”

Florida Fish and Wildlife issued the following statement:

“The FWC will work with vessel owners to get their vessels removed from the water. If officers determine that a vessel has been rendered derelict due to a hurricane, owners will be offered the opportunity to sign a waiver to have it removed at no cost to them.”

FWC noted, however, that if the boat is on land the owner needs to reach out to their county about removal.

In regards to the trash still on the street, Charlotte County now has a progress map up on its website, showing which areas have been cleaned, which are a work in progress, and which ones have not yet started.