St. Croix River Finally Free of Beached Yacht After Months

HUDSON, Wis (WSCM, WLAK) – The St. Croix River no longer features a beached yacht that had been abandoned since July, leading to significant fines against the owner.

Last week, City of Hudson officials finished patching the 54-foot yacht named “Sweet Destiny” up enough to tow it from the river. It had been sitting beached along Beer Can Island since last July.

The beached boat has been causing a stir in the area since last summer. In October, the Hudson City Council passed a new ordinance to begin fining owners hundreds of dollars for abandoning their boats. In recent weeks, officials also warned the owner of Sweet Destiny that fines would begin stacking up again if the boat wasn’t moved as soon as possible.

A similar situation unfolded along the Milwaukee shoreline on the other side of the state. An infamous boat named “Deep Thought” was finally removed from the shoreline in recent weeks. After its removal, Wisconsin lawmakers began working on legislation that would punish the owners of abandoned boats with a fine of around $10,000 and potentially even nine months of jail time. Minnesota lawmakers have also worked on legislation aimed at discouraging people from abandoning their beached boats along public waterways.

In addition to being a general eyesore for community members, removing abandoned boats from the water is a costly and lengthy process. Milwaukee Mayor Cavelier Johnson said an anonymous donor had covered the $25,000 estimation for removing Deep Thought from the water, and crews spent about 100 hours working on it. In October, City of Hudson officials estimated that removing Sweet Destiny from the St. Croix River would cost around $6,000.