Sailboat still hard aground in Elliot Lake parking lot

The City of Elliot Lake said it has located and been in communication with the owner of a sailboat apparently abandoned in the parking lot of the Dunlop Lake boat launch.

No other information was included in the release issued on Thursday.

ElliotLakeToday reached out to the city for comment and to the Ministry of the Environment's Steve Acorn after the city issued the release saying the owner of the boat had been in contact.

Acorn, who is district supervisor for the Sault Ste. Marie-Blind River district, taped a notice to the hull of the boat back in December notifying the owner of the boat that it had been deposited on Crown land without authority and that it could be sold, disposed of or destroyed if not removed in seven days. Any costs to do so would become the responsibility of the owner of the boat.

"The owner contacted us right away after I put the notice on the boat," said Acorn.

Acorn told the owner (whose name he didn't share with us) he should get the boat out of the water before it gets damaged by ice.

"He tried to get it out over the Christmas Holidays," Acorn said. "But I guess he wasn't able to."

When Acorn returned to the boat launch recently, he found that the boat had been removed from the water but was concerned about what the plan for it was so city staff posted a notice requesting the owner contact them on Tuesday.

Acorn said the owner once again reached out shortly after the notice was posted and now the MOE is waiting to see what the owner will do with the boat. 

While ElliotLakeToday reporter Kris Svela was investigating the condition of the boat and checking to see if it was still in the parking lot, he happened upon Jim Hunink who said he met the owner trying to pull the boat out at the Dunlop boat launch in November just prior to ice in.

“I talked to the gentleman who owns the boat and he was out there and got sick so he parked it there and went to the hospital," Hunink said.

Hunink went on to say he hasn't seen the owner again since then and that the owner told him he was not from or living in Elliot Lake.

The boat has sustained heavy damage, as seen by the photos and Svela reports the inside of it has been 'gutted'.