JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — Friday is not going the way Luke Rehberg had hoped.
He and his boat are still stuck on Jacksonville Beach, where he's been since Monday when his engine failed during rough waters. He told First Coast News that his boat, which is also his home, is sustaining more damage every day. He'd hoped to get help from a tow Friday morning.
Rehberg says the bottom of his boat is cracking and he has a long list of damage he fears could mean his boat may not be salvageable. He describes it as "watching something you love die slowly in front of you."
Rehberg has been staying with his boat, but says in the few hours he left to sleep in a hotel, more than $800 worth of materials were stolen.
Rehberg says he has been trying to coordinate a tow, hoping to get help during a "king tide." A king tide is a popular, non-scientific term people often use to describe exceptionally high tides that occur during a new or full moon, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's website. The next king tide will happen at 7:40 p.m. on Friday. The full moon phase, persistent onshore flow and a swell moving our way from what was Hurricane Tammy in the Atlantic, are also adding to the tide.
Rehberg says he was fined by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and expects it to cost more than $10,000 to get his boat off the sand.
Rebecca Titus started a GoFundMe page for Rehberg, which you can find here.