Update
By Jason Lanning, Reporter
Last Updated: Thursday, August 26, 2010 Video StoriesOfficials: No foul play suspected
Witness: Boat didn't turn
Investigators still trying to figure out who owns the yacht
Large boat attracts onlookers
REDINGTON BEACH --
Officials are still attempting to remove an abandoned $1 million yacht from Redington Beach.
The 43-foot yacht on auto-pilot washed up on the beach Wednesday.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that the vessel had been reported missing from a marina somewhere in the area of Yucatan, Mexico.
Investigators say the owner did report it missing to police in Mexico, but there's still no leads as to how the yacht made it ashore in Redington Beach with no passengers.
According to officials, no foul play is suspected, however, four speakers on the boat are missing.
When officials first found the boat, called Makin Waves, it had a Mexican flag flying at the bow, and an American flag flying at the stern.
The previous registered owner in Tampa told investigators he sold the boat two years ago to someone by the name of Arturo Reyes.
A beachgoer spotted the boat coming toward the beach Wednesday morning. It stopped once it hit hard sand.
"It came straight at me, yelled at my wife, she called 911. I went out to try to determine if there was anybody on it," said Jean Borg. "The waves in the sea was much heavier than it was now. That boat was moving around pretty good. I was hesitant to go onboard."
Borg said the boat wasn't moving very fast.
"I'm thinking, he's getting kinda close, I'm sure he'll turn soon," he said. "It didn't. It just came straight in at the beach."
Officials called off a search for possible overboard boaters Wednesday night.
While the boat's origin has been determined, the problem of getting it back into water remains.
Several attempts earlier Thursday failed as tow cables broke.
As of 11 p.m., crews were unsuccessful getting the yacht back in the water. They are now digging a hole around it, which they hope will increase buoyancy and make it easier for a tug boat to pull it back out into the Gulf at high tide.
Crews expect to have the yacht into the water again between midnight and 2 a.m.
Rough weather is headed towards the scene, which they say may also help get the yacht back out to water by rocking it back and forth.
http://www.baynews9.com/article/new...ideshow:-Yacht-washes-ashore-in-Madeira-Beach
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