Local Boater Finally Towed From North Avenue Beach
The ballad of Lenny Klinger has a happy ending.
Klinger's boat, "Sea No Evil," washed ashore during recent rough weather on Lake Michigan and spent about two weeks stuck on North Avenue Beach.
Michael Krihn first spotted Klinger's boat and told WBBM, "I tried to help out, got shovels, started digging, then the storm came and it pushed it (the boat) further up on shore."
The Chicago Park District stepped in, so did Liam Poczatek, who was the one who ended up towing Klinger to safety, telling WBBM, "I came over, (initially) I know who Lenny is, I have helped him a few times."
Lenny Klinger, standing aboard "Sea No Evil", cigarette dangling from his mouth, Big Gulp in hand, told WBBM amid the choppy waters at North Avenue Beach on Monday the whole thing has been a bit of an oddysey, saying it all happened when he was on the water watching fireworks a few weeks ago, "a wrong wave hit the boat...and then the batteries jumped up and shorted out the boat and the engine stopped! So when the Coast Guard came out and they tried to tow it but was too choppy, so they basically told us to abort my boat, leave it! So the Coast Guard cut the anchor and said leave the boat, 'wherever it goes it goes,' and I'm like that ain't cool! And this is where the boat wound up, beached up on North Avenue! In the sand! Jesus Christ!"
"And then it's like two weeks now and we tried everything and now finally today's the day we got it out of here. The City of Chicago and the Chicago Park District all came out and helped which is really great, and they did it without charging me because they had seen what was going on, so that was cool."
WBBM watched as Klinger's boat was pulled away on choppy, but hopefully more cooperative, blue waters under hopeful skies.
Klinger waved goodbye and yelled from on board, "this is a Kodak moment!"
And a memorable story.
Lenny Klinger and his boat have become local celebrities
Lenny Klinger and his boat have become local celebrities
