Hobe Sound man charged with environmental pollution for partially submerged boat

HOBE SOUND, Fla. - A state investigation into a 40-foot, partially submerged boat attached to pilings in Pecks Lake has led to its owner being charged with littering, environmental pollution and failure to get a permit for a dock in a state-protected area.

Retired dock builder Nicholas “Tarzan” Alexander, 63, address listed as a post office box in Hobe Sound, was arrested Tuesday on the offenses and on Wednesday was in Martin County Jail jail in lieu of a $5,250 bail.

The boat is in the area of a state Aquatic Preserve, along the Intracoastal Waterway, that protects the water bottom.

On Oct. 22, Florida Department of Natural Resources investigators went to the boat’s mooring site and found that during high tide, only the bow is above water and it is supported by heavy straps underneath it.

DNR divers found that state-protected sea grasses aren’t growing under the boat or around 10-foot-long pilings in the water, an arrest report shows.

In addition to the boat, divers found a bicycle, sleeping bags and clothing and indications that fuel was leaking from the vessel, the report says.

According to the arrest report, investigators quoted Alexander as saying he cannot move the 20,000-pound boat and that it will stay there until he can find a way to haul it off.

State records show that Alexander didn’t have a permit to put pilings in the Aquatic Preserve.

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