Florida man's sailboat still stuck on Sea Girt beach for nearly 2 months
Nearly two months and a court appearance later, Capt. Lawrence Kaehler is still in New Jersey, and the Alestorm is still on Sea Girt beach.
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When a Florida man left from Staten Island on his sailboat set for Cocoa Beach, a storm ended his journey in Sea Girt. That was on Sept. 20.
Nearly two months and a court appearance later, Capt. Lawrence Kaehler is still in New Jersey, and the Alestorm is still on Sea Girt beach.
The wind that’s supposed to power the Alestorm instead tears at what’s left of its sails.
The 30-foot Catalina is partially buried with the rudder broken. It’s a spectacle that's slowly wearing out its welcome on Sea Girt beach.
“The people of Monmouth County are outstanding, really great people. You live in a great community,” said Lawrence Kaehler.
Speaking to News 12 from a relative’s home in New Jersey, the Deltona, Florida native says while he’s thankful for the early local support, a wrong interpretation of the law is the main reason he and his boat are still here.
“I misunderstood how the law worked right until the 30th day, I was active doing everything I could to get it back into the water,” Kaehler explained.
Last week, Kaehler pleaded not guilty to a summons for storing a vessel on Sea Girt’s public beach. He says he thought after 30 days, he lost ownership of the boat and until court last week, gave up trying to remove it.
“Mr. Kaehler is more than welcome to go onto the vessel and still determine the means and methods of removing the vessel from the beach,” said Sea Girt Police Chief and borough administrator Justin Macko.
Kaehler still has no solid plan on how to move or repair it. It would come at a cost; the town estimated to be around $15,000.
Chief Macko says they’ll keep an eye on it. If a storm threatens, it may have to be moved further up the beach. But for now,
“The borough can’t comment on potential litigation, so it is in the court system right now,” said Macko.
“I’d like to resolve this as fast as possible. Get back to the warm weather, give the people of Sea Girt their beach back,” said Kaehler.
