SPRING PARK, Minn. — It may be the dead of winter, but an issue involving the storage of a large boat is heating up in the Hennepin County legal system.
The county has filed a complaint against the owners of a 58-foot yacht called Seanote, alleging they have created a dangerous situation for both people and Lake Minnetonka by illegally leaving it on county-owned land.
Court documents allege boat owners Paul Berquist and Benjamin Fields Wilson removed the yacht, previously used as a charter boat, from Lake Minnetonka on Dec. 15, 2021. Hennepin County says the facility that previously stored the Seanote was either unwilling or unable to store the boat, so the owners placed it on a flatbed trailer unsuitable to transport or store the craft and moved it to a county-owned lake access in Spring Park. There, the county says the yacht was parked in a way that "substantially blocked" access to the lake by other residents.
The county says on Dec. 23 the boat , with an estimated weight of 45 tons, was moved to a different spot on the access where it currently sits. Prosecutors say the flatbed trailer is parked on a slope and maintain that support braces holding the yacht are showing signs of failure, posing a danger to residents if it falls off. Not only that, they say the boat is currently holding 200 gallons of fuel, and if it were to topple that fuel could spill into Lake Minnetonka.
Crews have set up concrete barriers around the Seanote in an effort to keep people away until a resolution can be reached. County officials are asking a judge to:
- Immediately order removal of the boat from the Spring Park landing.
- Permanently bar owners from launching the Seanote on Lake Minnetonka by using any Hennepin County access.
- Order them to pay for damages to the access, storage costs amounting to what they would pay at area marinas, and to cover court costs and attorneys fees.
Berquist told the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal that he's working on addressing the issue, and accused Hennepin County of “taking an enforcement opinion rather than a solution opinion."
On Thursday morning, a hearing was held and Hennepin County Judge James A. Moore ordered mediation for both sides.
"As soon as possible, but not later than February 18, 2022, the parties shall engage in mediation and attempt to agree upon a way to quickly, safely, and legally move the yacht and trailer to a location where it can be legally stored."
If both sides cannot agree on a solution, they will return to court by Feb. 22.
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