MANATEE COUNTY – The boat that’s been a fixture on the south side of the Palma Sola Causeway beach on Manatee Avenue for several days is expected to soon be gone.
Manatee County Information Outreach Manager Nicholas Azzara said that the owner of the beached vessel, the “Viva! Viva!,” has been located by the county’s marine resources team and confirmed that the owner does have plans to repair and remove the vessel from the public beach as quickly as possible.
Azzara said that in conversations with the boat owner, county representatives determined that there were extenuating circumstances leading to the boat’s prolonged stay on the sand. Because the vessel isn’t considered abandoned or derelict, there are no plans for Manatee County or Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials to remove the boat.
To help reduce the owner’s liability due to the public curiosity the beached vessel has garnered, Azzara said the owner has arranged for caution tape and signage to be placed on the vessel noting that it is private property. The public is asked to not trespass on the beached vessel.
If the blue and white boat looks familiar, it’s the same one that has floated at anchor on the north side of the causeway for the past few years. The boat appeared on the beach after a windstorm the week of Feb. 1 and has been there ever since. While no date has been announced for the removal of the boat, the situation is expected to be remedied by the boat’s owner as quickly as possible. At this point, Azzara said Florida state boaters’ rights limit the county to working with the boat owner to limit public access to the vessel and on the removal of the boat.
