JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — *The video above is from a previous story Nov. 1.
It has become a fixture of sorts on Jacksonville Beach for the past two weeks. A 40-foot sailboat near the water off 14th Avenue N. The boat is also the home of Luke Rehberg, who became stranded on the beach after the boat lost power on Oct. 24. Unwilling to leave his home, Rehberg took up residence on the shore to watch over his ailing sailboat.
He was still there Monday morning with some hammocks to rest and a solar panel for power.
His days there are numbered and quickly coming to an end. But exactly how it ends is anybody's guess.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has given Rehberg a Nov. 16 deadline to remove the sailboat, which he says he doesn't have the means to do. People have been contributing money to Rehberg and his cause, but nowhere near the $12,000 for the industrial-grade tugboat to remove it, the $10,000 to repair it, or the $15,000 he said the authorities will charge him to remove it.
Rehberg told First Coast News last week he's given up on the boat and will likely have it destroyed and removed from the beach in pieces.
On Monday, Rehberg said a youth group from a local church helped him remove belongings from the boat over the weekend carrying his stuff from the beach to the asphalt. He said he was taking everything to a storage unit.
On Wednesday, Rehberg said he's throwing in the towel and will salvage what he can, but he's "waiting for a miracle."
The boat has become less and less sanitary over the last couple of weeks, Rehberg said. It has water inside and is mixed with food items, like flour, and also cleaning products.
When asked what his plans are after the sailboat is removed, Rehberg said he has a backup. Turns out he has a 33-foot boat in Hilton Head. He said it's the boat he grew up sailing. That boat doesn't have an engine and needs parts from the boat that is stranded on Jax Beach.
Once he gets that boat up and running, he'll live on it, he said.
