After months of being stranded in Lake Michigan, the boat known as "Deep Thought" has finally been removed in an operation that took over 12 hours to complete. The vessel will now be stored at the All City Towing lot for several months.
"I can't believe it," Milwaukee County Supervisor, Sheldon Wasserman said.
Watch: Abandoned boat finally removed from Milwaukee's lakefront:
Wasserman has been working for months to get the boat removed from the lake.
"I mean this is just absolutely a huge event for Milwaukee," Wasserman said. "I mean we have helicopters overhead, we have drones. We have hundreds who have been here, we have thousands who have been stopping."
Crews worked throughout the day to lift the extremely heavy boat out of the water. The project, which had faced numerous delays, encountered one final setback when the tires on the tow truck popped as it was leaving the lakefront area. After a brief pause, the journey continued.
The stranded boat had become something of a local attraction.
"The absurdity around it. People love it. There's momentum around it. People generally just wanna connect and play and what a fun way to do so," Alex Minik said.
Minik was one of many who came to witness the removal, having been at the scene since 6:30 a.m.
"We were blessed with a really nice day. Sunny, calm waters, so all the workers were able to get in that water," Minik said.
Minik and his friends made a day of the boat removal, enjoying the sunshine on the rocks near the lakefront.
"I brought some tortillas and queso. These guys had a nice little charcuterie rock when I showed up," said Minik.
When asked if it was crazy that Lincoln Memorial Drive had been closed all day because of the boat removal, Minik responded, "A lot of this is crazy to me."
Despite the unusual nature of the event, many observers felt it represented the spirit of their city.
"This is what Milwaukee is all about really," Milwaukee resident, John Lenz said. "It doesn't matter what it is. It's kind of nice that it's a neutral thing too. It's not sports or politics or anything to divide people. Ya know this is really a team game out here and everybody is on the same side."
According to Wasserman, the county has received some donations to cover the cost owed to All City Towing. There are likely plans to cut up the boat and sell parts of it.
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