FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – The popular Jay’s Sandbar food boat ended up on its side, submerged in the Intracoastal during a busy Mother’s Day lunch rush.
“All of a sudden I heard the bell on the boat ring, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, which means there’s something absolutely wrong,” said owner Jay Lycke.
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He was on another boat delivering food to nearby boaters when he saw his boat begin to tip. Coulette Murray was on board.
“All the sudden we get this big wake then hear a pop and see the outrigger floating out in the water,” Murray said.
With one of its stabilizing pontoons gone, it didn’t take long before the boat began to list.
“With in seconds the boat was tilting toward the one side, so we had to hold ourselves so we wouldn’t fall into the boat,” Murray.
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Lycke said it was a speeding boat that tipped it over.
“This was a designated no wake channel and someone went way too fast and threw a huge wave, that was like four feet,” he said. “That big wave just hit that pontoon and snapped it right off, it was floating off the boat, a horror story.”
Coulette and the chef both jumped overboard to safety. Lycke was grateful no one was hurt or killed.
“People say ‘Oh what a tragedy.’ No, it’s not a tragedy, nobody died and nobody got hurt. If people died and got hurt it’s a tragedy. It’s a financial loss, that’s how you gotta look at it. I can replace a boat or not replace it. I can’t replace lives,” Lycke said.
Lycke did not have insurance on the boat because he was it was not available. He figures it could cost up to $100,000 to replace it.
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Friends have already started an online fundraising effort to help out.
