Popular food boat capsizes and sinks in Florida

A popular floating restaurant capsized and sank in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Sunday. Nobody was injured, but the owner of Jay’s Sandbar Food Boat said the vessel is a “total loss.”

Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said that crews responded to a call of a vessel sinking. 

“Upon arrival crews found the iconic Jay’s floating food truck rapidly sinking,” FLFR said in a statement. “An assessment of the scene indicated that there were no injuries and no immediate hazards to the environment.”

According to the owner, Jeremy Lycke, the boat’s stabilizer pontoon “snapped.” A worker said the wake from a passing boat is what caused it to snap, CBS Miami reported. Once the outrigger broke, the boat capsized and sank in under five minutes, according to CBS Miami.

Two people, a hostess and chef, were on board at the time the boat sank, Lycke told CBS News. 

“I’m devastated of course, but my crew got out safely and nobody got hurt,” Lycke wrote on Facebook, adding that the boat sank in “just 4 feet of water.”

Jay’s Sandbar Food Boat was a popular floating restaurant that would deliver food to boaters and jet skiers in Fort Lauderdale. The boat had been in operation for three years, according to the owner’s Facebook post announcing the sinking.

“We will rebuild, somehow, now first, we got to remove her shallow grave,” Lycke wrote. He told CBS News he suffered some $85,000 in damages, but is hoping to rebuild the boat and open a land-based location. 

FLFR said Lycke has contacted a private salvage company to refloat and remove the boat from the Intracoastal Waterway “in the upcoming days.”