You Just Know There’s A Story …

… when you see a sad sight such as the situation which befell the sailing vessel Morning Star. This sailboat, along with a handful of others, had been riding snugly at anchor in the Peace River between Fishermen’s Village and the Bayfront Center in Punta Gorda. Unfortunately, several days of persistent northerly winds moved the vessel towards the Punta Gorda waterfront and into such shallow water that it was lying almost on its side at low tide. I don’t know the story behind the boat or its owners, but Sherlock Holmes might deduce that the owners of the Florida-registered craft were probably absent at the time of the grounding since the anchor was not reset when the boat began to drift ashore. Holmes might also guess that the boat has not been permanently abandoned since the Bimini top, the visible portions of the sails, and the solar cell array on the transom all appear to be in reasonably good shape.