Who knew on Oct. 12, 2024 that Milwaukee would soon be in for a local saga of vast proportions and unrelenting twists, a tale of woe and heartbreak, of dashed dreams and local pride, of strange landmarks and also weird Google Maps reviews?
Not us.
But on Oct. 13 last year, that saga began to unfold, when Deep Thought ran aground on the shore between McKinley and Bradford Beaches. And now, after 205 days stuck on the shore, the 33-foot-boat – nearly unrecognizable after extensive vandalism and tagging – was finally removed on Tuesday evening after around 14 hours of work.
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After months of failed attempts to pull it from the shore, difficulty contacting the boats alleged owners’ Richard and Sherry Wells of Mississippi, and local memes of the highest caliber, the boat was lifted from the sand and up over the rocks using two rotators. From there, it will be towed, still intact, to the All City Towing yard.
Richard and Sherry told reporters that they bought the boat intending to sail from Manitowoc to Mississippi, but ran out of gas while caught in a storm before becoming stranded on the shore. In the seven months since, the boat has been extensively spray-painted and has become something of a local landmark, a cultural institution even, worthy of T-shirts and a Google maps placemarker.
After an anonymous donor paid to partly fund the boat’s removal in late April, Milwaukee County Parks contracted All City Towing to remove the boat via land.
Work began Tuesday morning, with the crew hooking straps to the boat, digging away at the sand and muck around its base, and attempting to pull the vessel over the rock-strewn shoreline. Onlookers littered the surrounding grass to catch one last glimpse of the local landmark. Around 4 p.m., the boat was lifted fully off the shoreline and onto the rocks.
“We had a few equipment failures right from the beginning. It was off to a little bit of a slow start. Once we got over the rock wall, we knew we had it,” said Jeff Piller, owner of All City Towing, at a press conference following the boat’s removal from the shore. “The boat is extremely heavy. Way heavier than we ever imagined. It’s probably close to 75,000 pounds with all the mud inside.”
“As you can see, today is a big day for Milwaukee County,” said County Executive David Crowley. “Since October the abandoned boat Deep Thought has been stranded right here on our lakefront. And while the community has been extremely intrigued by the presence of this boat for many months now, this situation has become a public safety hazard that has required a solution.”
Crowley noted that the county is still looking at options to fully cover the cost of removal.
The boat is next headed to the All City Towing yard. After that, “our options are open,” Crowley said. “Jokingly, there’s maybe a revenue option. Can we sell pieces of this boat because we know this has become a staple for the past few months here in Milwaukee?”
