CLEVELAND — When a boat sinks at the dock, you’d expect the owner to quickly try to salvage it before it’s a total loss. Not the case at the Inter City Yacht Club.
A boat sits at the dock partially submerged, as the the bed of the marina is only about 10-15 deep. The boat has been that way since winter.
A former Inter City Yacht Club member says the boat was never removed from the water this past winter. So when Lake Erie froze over, the ice likely cracked the hull. When the lake thawed as temperatures warmed, the boat began to sink.
The Commodore for the Inter City Yacht club, Mike Blankenship, says they’ve been in touch with the owner, but that person hasn’t made any effort to get the boat out of the water.
So who’s responsibility is it if the owner doesn’t come forward? That’s the question that can’t be answered at the time.
The land that the Inter City Yacht club sits on was recently taken over by the Cleveland Metroparks along with other lakefront properties.
WKYC contacted the Metroparks about the sunken boat. A spokesperson says they are working with their lawyer to find out exactly who is responsible for the water near the Inter City Yacht Club under the terms of their lease agreement.
Early Tuesday evening, Cleveland Metroparks spokeswoman Sue Allen told WKYC that the Inter City Yacht Club officials said the boat would be removed from the water by the end of the week.
Inter City Yacht Club isn’t saying the Metroparks is responsible, and they’re still hoping the owner will remedy the situation.
But until then, the boat sits half-underwater in the marina — an eyesore for other club members.
Blankenship confirmed that, when the boat sank, the Coast Guard and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources came out to make sure the boat wasn’t leaking fuel or causing any harm to the lake environment.