GULFPORT, Fla. — It’s been weeks since Hurricane Debby saturated the Bay area with heavy rain and flooding. FEMA has made its way to most of those hard-hit areas, but there’s one group of locals who are still holding out hope that they will get help from the agency for their house boats.

The boats are still in the water — with a lot of damage. Gulfport Police said they had a total of 25 damaged boats on their shoreline after the storm.

Many have been moved by the owners, but the remaining boats will likely be removed and destroyed by the city. It’s the last thing one couple says they ever wanted to see happen.

It has been hard for residents like Kaylee Walker and her husband, Ian Wylie, who had their dream boat named Unbridled Spirit.

“It was a 35-foot Columbia. it was an old boat. It was a 1979. It was built back in the really good days of boat building,” Wylie said.

They rode out the storm during Debby on the water in Gulfport.

“The worst of it was probably when it broke off ball because it heeled over to a 45-degree angle and with the waves already pushing in the direction they were, we were worried about our boat capsizing,” Walker said.

Walker recorded videos showing the harrowing moments that ended with them jumping overboard right before their boat slammed into a seawall and took on water.

“I texted my family, and I basically told them I don’t think we’re safe and that this is probably it,” she said.

They did make it, but the damage was so severe, they couldn’t salvage their boat that they also called home.

“I mean, it’s totaled for sure. It technically could be repaired but it would be so much money, but that’s money FEMA wouldn’t even give us,” Walker said.

We reached out to FEMA and were told Pinellas County is not part of the disaster declaration for this storm. So, boats like theirs will either have to be moved or signed over to the city so they can move it.

“We signed it over with questions unanswered. They told us our 45 days was taken away because our boat was deemed hazardous. They did not give us documentation as to why our boat was hazardous. They didn’t give us any proof that it was hazardous,” said Walker.

We talked with city officials who cited safety and potential environmental hazards the boats are causing by remaining in the water. Those were not the answers the couple wanted to hear about their boat.

“It’s gonna be very, very frustrating to have to do everything over again on a new vessel, but I’m not giving up,” said Wylie.

The couple signed their boat over to the city so it can be removed. The couple, like many others, are still holding out hope for FEMA funding. But while they wait, they’ve also started a fundraiser to help since they lost everything thing they own. 

The city plans to move the remaining boats out of the waters soon, but as of now they don’t have a date.

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