Lake Michigan Mystery Boat; A boat washes up on Milwaukee beach

MILWAUKEE – If you’ve walked along the lakeshore at McKinley Beach recently, you may have seen an abandoned “mystery” boat washed up.

Many people wonder how it got there and how long it will stay?

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About two weeks ago the boat washed up and landed between the beaches of Bradford and McKinley.

“This is a moment where you can stop and smell the roses longer than you should,” said boat spectator Marco Gonzalez. “It’s really a mystery.”

It took all hands on deck for people to figure out how a boat named “Deep Thought” got there in the first place.

“I saw it on Facebook and it’s been here for days, and I’m curious,” said another onlooker, Judy Hinze. “I have to see it.”

“Someone said I can’t afford this anymore between gas and winter maintenance and just let it go,” said another spectator, Mike Ray.

Despite many theories, the U.S. Coast Guard said the real story is that strong winds caused the boat to break loose and drift away. There was no one on it and there was no gas in it.

And who is responsible for towing it?

“Everyone knows we’re the only people doing these crazy things,” says Jerry Guyer of Pirates Cove Diving, Inc. “Every salvage is different, every salvage is dangerous.”

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Guyer and his crew at Pirates Cove Diving say removing a boat of this size isn’t exactly smooth sailing.

“The wind, the wind, the wind,” he said. “This heavy equipment, the ship, we have to get right up to the boat, you can’t rock back and forth.”

Although it’s really up to Mother Nature to decide when to take it away.

“I was hoping this week, but I only have a few days left until I go on vacation,” Guyer said.

The U.S. Coast Guard said the boat owners are currently out of state but are working with Guyer to remove the boat sometime in November. So it may take a while.