In October a mystery boat made waves when it washed on shore near the Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort. The sail boat was massive and seemed to have been abandoned. After some researching this was discovered John Hail was the owner of the boat who had a harrowing story of being rescued at sea.
He was on his way to the Islands to help with the recovery efforts of Hurricane Irma when Hurricane Nate came barreling through the Gulf of Mexico. A hard decision was made to abandon the boat and have the Coast Guard rescue him.
John thought his boat was lost until he had gotten the call that it has washed onshore in the Miramar Beach area. With no immediate means to rescue his boat The Phantom of the Aqua has rested alongside the shore while onlookers take in its beauty and talk about how it came to rest on the beach.
Mr. Hail told the story of how the boat had been brought back to life by him and a lost love. They spent years making it into the beauty it is today.
One of Destin Getaways property owners heard about John’s story and reached out to him through social media to offer her condo as her guest, so he could start the recovery efforts of getting his boat back at sea.
The Destin/Sandestin community came together to help someone who has spent his life helping others. While the beautiful sail boat is still enjoying our sandy white beaches, it won’t be long before it sails back into the emerald green waters of the Gulf of Mexico.