FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Days after a popular eatery capsized, crews began the tough task of removing the wreckage just off a South Florida beach, Wednesday.
7Skyforce flew over Lauderdale Harbor on Wednesday morning as several men on a boat pulled wood off the remnants of Jay’s Sandbar Foodboat, taking it apart and also picking up some equipment that went down with it.
This all happened on Sunday, during Mother’s Day, at lunchtime.
Co-owner Jeremy Lycke said a wake from a larger vessel caused the boat to tip over.
“Within a minute, she flipped, ‘bang.’ Everything was floating in the water,” he said.
Coulette Murray, a hostess, and one other employee were on board the vessel when it sank.
“We felt a big wave, and then I heard a pop, and then I saw the outriggers floating away, and as soon as it did that, within seconds, we started tilting downwards, and the equipment was starting to fall. This is heavy stuff, starting to fall down,” said Murray. “Me and the sous chef jumped out into the water.”
Some of the items that sank included a refrigerator. The appliance and a delivery sign draped over slats of wood were seen floating in the center of the sandbar.
“It’s not a tragedy, you know. It’s a terrible thing for us, and for, you know, the people at the sandbar and all of our friends, but we’re still alive to tell the story,” said Jay Lycke, another of Jay’s Sandbar owners.
The food boat went out every weekend in Fort Lauderdale and was very popular. The eatery had been around for four years and served tons of people during that time.
“Our friends, you know? These people are out there every weekend,” said Jeremy Lycke.
The owners said some of these customers have been helping them dismantle the food boat. Their goal is to remove every piece of wood and machinery from the water.
The Lyckes said that this could have been much worse considering all the cooking equipment they had on there, combined with a fuel tank. They are very thankful, but it is going to be very costly for them to replace the floating eatery.
For the removal alone, the expected cost will be around $10,000, and to build a new food boat would cost around $100,000.
The food boat’s owners have set up a GoFundMe page to make a return. Click here if you would like to help.
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