Down in Collier County, Florida, there lies the Marco Island canal.



And what a canal it is! Swallowing yachts up whole as it becomes more and more crowded with abandoned ships and vessels from over the years. Those ships will continue to rot there, as Collier County doesn't have the funds to extract them.

A little background on Marco Island: it's the largest island that's a part of Florida. Super nice beaches and oceans, temperatures in the high 80s - that sort of thing. According to the 2000 Census via Wikipedia, the island is 98% caucasian, holds 12,879 residents and has 7,134 households. Leighton Meester from Gossip Girl and singer Shania Twain are residents.



Unfortunately for the island and Collier county, time is not on their side according to Naples News:

The difference in cost for removing a partially-submerged boat compared with a fully-sunken boat can be tens of thousands of dollars. Additionally, the environmental and navigational hazards increase as the boat sinks deeper.



Last year, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation partnered with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office to remove derelict vessels from the waterways with state grant money. In the past two years, Collier County has received approximately $161,000 in grant funds from the FWC, assisting in the removal of 44 vessels from county waters.

To add insult to a sunken boat, owners who do not pay back the government for removing their vessels can be charged with a crime and blacklisted from registering a ship in their name again. Essentially, everyone is screwed; the government, the boatowner, the wildlife conservation, the police - all these forces will be drained in one way or another for every boat that ends up sinking in the canal.

Seems like it's best to just not sail near Marco Island. It can be hazardous to your wallet.