Sailboat once owned by Tom Selleck sinks in Murrells Inlet after being removed from beach
A sailboat that has been stuck in the mud in Murrells Inlet for about two years was removed Wednesday evening by South Carolina Department of Resources.
However, immediately after the boat was removed, the boat sank in the inlet, according to the boat’s former owner, Asher Robinson.
The SCDNR was at the site Thursday morning to finish getting the boat out of the inlet. The SCDNR confirmed Thursday that divers and officers were working to get the boat out of the water.
“The removal attempt last night was unsuccessful,” said SCDNR spokesperson Greg Lucas by text. “Our dive team is there now trying to position the sailboat so that it can be removed.”
First Sgt. Jason Dozier with the SCDNR said that the team is waiting for the tide to get low, about 2 or 3 p.m., in order to place airbags on the boat so that it will float to the top and then allow the salvage crew to patch the hole in the bottom of the boat. The boat was damaged when it was being removed, Dozier said.
“It’s like big swimmies on a boat,” Dozier said about the airbags. Following that, the crews will have to return Friday during high tide to finally remove the boat.
Robinson said he signed the boat over to SCDNR this week so they could remove it and salvage it.
Robinson said The boat, Willow, once belonged to actor Tom Selleck.
Robinson only had the boat for about 10 days before a 10-foot storm surge during Hurricane Ian in 2022 caused it to beach in the inlet.
Robinson, who has was ordered by SCDNR to remove the boat and has been ticketed and fined, said he has tried to remove the boat previously, but there was never quite enough water to do it. On Wednesday evening, SCDNR and a volunteer group used the King Tides to get the boat out.
Robinson said that there were complaints from residents and businesses who didn’t like it there, but he said some did because it went along with the idea that pirates were once part of the Inlet.
This story was originally published June 6, 2024 at 12:06 PM.
