BRADENTON – Anyone traveling down Manatee Avenue the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 19 was treated to an interesting sight as the nine-person crew of the Exuma Trader, a Sarasota-based marine salvage vessel, worked to remove the Viva! Viva! from the shallows of Palma Sola Bay, where it ran aground early this month.
The entire operation took more than two hours and required an assist from Sea Tow to get the boat bobbing.
The boat was a minor tourist attraction this month on the southeast side of the Palma Sola Causeway until its owner could have it removed. Thanks to the help of Catherine Schultz of Catherine’s Florida Charters and Bahia Mar West Marina, the vessel was removed at no cost to the owner, who lives part-time aboard the Viva! Viva!
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers, along with officers from the Bradenton Police Department, secured the site and watched over a small group of onlookers.
At the end of the afternoon, the Viva! Viva! was returned to its customary anchorage position in Palma Sola Bay on the north side of the causeway along Manatee Avenue.
