A large boat, Sea No Evil, has been stuck on North Avenue Beach in Chicago since July 19. The boat’s owner, Lenny Klinger, was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard after the boat’s engines died during a storm in Lake Michigan.

Klinger has been trying to dislodge the boat with the help of volunteers, including Michael Khrin, who was setting up nets for his evening volleyball league when he noticed the stuck boat. About a dozen people, including Khrin, answered Klinger’s call for help and joined him in trying to dislodge the boat.

Rescue Efforts

Despite the use of a tow boat, a water pump, and an excavator, the boat remained stuck in the sand. Klinger, who has been sleeping on the boat since it got stuck, has been trying to find ways to dig it out and tow it back to Diversey Harbor himself.

A crew of about a dozen friends and onlookers helped dig out a trench for the boat to be dragged to the water as a water taxi and boat charter company, Yachti, pulled Klinger’s boat using a rope tied to their converted Navy Seal utility boat.

However, after hours of digging, pushing, and pulling, the team was defeated. By 7 p.m. Thursday, most people had left the beach. Klinger is an amputee and broke his prosthetic leg while straining himself during the recovery effort.

A Park District spokesperson said the agency, which manages Chicago’s beaches, was aware of the efforts to try to dislodge the boat and is monitoring the situation. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is the lead agency in charge of abandoned vessel removal.

Original reporting: Block Club Chicago — read the source article.