Another sunken sailboat raising concerns in Murrells Inlet

MURRELLS INLET, S.C. (WBTW) — Another sunken sailboat is raising concerns in Murrells Inlet.

Last June, officials worked to remove the so-called “Ornament of the Inlet” from a mudflat near Goat Island where it came to rest after Hurricane Ian. It was stuck there for two years and eventually sank before it could be removed.

Ironically, there is a connection between the two boats. Asher Robinson, the owner of the “Ornament of the Inlet” had been living for months on the second boat, which now sits on the bottom of the Inlet.

“Hopefully that I do better this go around seeing that I’ve had a little bit of experience doing this,” he told News13 during a storm in August. “We’ll see if I ride this one out right. Yeah, there definitely is an art to anchoring, trying to learn. There’s a learning curve.”

Murrells Inlet resident Bradley Parker thinks there needs to be more rules put in place to prevent situation like this one.

“[It’s a] complete eyesore, and it’s almost become comical because it’s the same guy, same boat, same two boats,” Parker said. “You know, the guy just can’t catch a break, but like I said, without those rules in place, he’s free to do it, and until something is done about that, we’re going to continue to see these eyesores, see these environmental hazards, see these obstructions to the waterways.”  

A spokesman for Wounded Nature, a veteran-based organization that helps remove derelict vessels from South Carolina waterways, said these types of situations are normal across South Carolina.

People will get a free boat or buy a cheap one, live in it for a while and then abandon it before it takes on water. That leaves it up to the Department of Natural Resources to find the owner and — with or without them — figure out a removal plan, which can be a monthlong undertaking.

Wounded Nature CEO Rudy Socha said more state funding and manpower are needed to help with removals.

“It’s not easy to take away all that time, all that law enforcement focus and put it on a sunken boat that’s out there,” Socha said.

DNR officials confirmed that the most recent sunken sailboat is not registered to Robinson and that the agency is working to get in contact with the owner and put together a removal plan.

New13 reached out to Robinson for a comment but has not heard back.