Sunken boat removal, remnant of former mayor
John Banyas, owner of Cortez-based N.E. Taylor Boatworks, stands on the 46-foot Tayana sailboat he salvaged Jan. 30. The boat sank in the Bradenton Beach anchorage near Bridge Street some time during September 2016 storms. According to BBPD Lt. John Cosby, former Holmes Beach Mayor Carmel Monti was the registered boat owner when the city ordered the vessel removed. Monti says he sold the boat to another person but failed to change the registration. He previously attracted complaints that the boat was a derelict in the canal behind his former Key Royale home. Bradenton Beach will be reimbursed for the removal cost by a derelict vessel program. Islander Photo: Kathy Prucnell