Lewis “Lucky” Whitaker has an island destination spot that can’t be found on Airbnb — Gilligan’s Island.
Located across the bay from Key Royale and neighboring the north end of Perico Bayou just south of the Manatee River bulkhead, the island has been used by recreational campers and boat-going sightseers for decades.
The island recently gained public attention when a video showing what appeared to be people living among makeshift structures and scattered debris began circulating on social media, raising questions about the island’s use and oversight.
The man behind the video and the structures, Lewis Whitaker, spoke June 10 to The Islander.
Whitaker, known locally as “Lucky Lewy,” said he is not homeless and he does not reside on Gilligan’s Island.
“I am not a homeless person. I have an address … every bank card, all my bills get sent to that residence,” Whitaker said, referring to a residence in west Bradenton.
He said he first went out to Gilligan’s to camp with friends in 2007 over Easter weekend.
“It was love at first sight,” Whitaker said. “When I got to the island, I said, oh my gosh, I couldn’t believe how beautiful it is.”
Whitaker said he sheltered on the island after a period of homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said his housemate became ill and they couldn’t afford their rent.
With nowhere to go, Whitaker turned to the island.
“Really, that was the time I went out there and said, ‘I’ll camp out there for a few weeks while I figure out what to do,’” he said.
Whitaker now resides in west Bradenton with a friend but he still frequents Gilligan’s Island.
“I renewed the love I have for the island,” Whitaker said, referring to his time living on Gilligan’s. “Only now I am retired and I have a boat.”
Whitaker turned 65 this year.
He said he thought about how he could give something back to the island that had sheltered him. Then he erected a tent to house tools and provide a place to rest and went to work cleaning up the island.
He and his dog Blu spend 4-5 days a week on the island and the rest in Bradenton. They also go back and forth to a restaurant where he works in Anna Maria.
Whitaker said he’s met many people, some now considered friends, by stewarding the island.
He said he’s helped people who go to the island unprepared or experiencing boat trouble. He even assisted in the rescue of a woman whose boat sank at night near the island.
“She saw my solar lights on the beach. She swam over there with her little dog to the island,” Whitaker said. He let the woman use his phone to call police, who sent a rescue boat.
Whitaker said Manatee County code enforcement went to the island May 9 to inspect the camp.
“They said, look, you can’t build a city here on the island. So I just removed everything and took it back to my truck,” he said.
A violation, which Whitaker showed The Islander, mandated the cleanup of “trash/debris/homeless camp” by May 14.
Whitaker said a code enforcement officer returned by boat and, upon seeing the area cleaned up, waved and left.
He said he was interested in trying to find a way to work with the state to continue to steward the island.
According to the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office, the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund of the State of Florida is now on the tax roll as responsible for Gilligan’s Island.
Created in 1855, the trust is charged with the acquisition, administration, management, control, supervision, conservation, protection and disposition of all state-owned lands.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Division of State Lands performs staff duties for the trust or TIITF and administers islands like Gilligan’s through its aquatic preserve program.
However, according to the DEP website, no aquatic preserve exists on the west coast of Florida from the south border of the Manatee River south to Roberts Bay in Venice.
In other parts of the state, citizen-support organizations like Friends of the Spoil Islands in the Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserve formed to work with the DEP to steward spoil islands.
FOSI oversees spoil island stewardship from Titusville to West Palm Beach, for example.
John Bacon, president of FOSI spoke with The Islander June 13.
He said FOSI was founded in 2014 by people who recognized the need to make the islands accessible but maintain the natural environment.
“FOSI was also started because state agencies can’t fundraise,” Bacon said.
He said many of the islands have been outfitted with tent platforms, hiking trails, picnic tables and other amenities.
Legal administration, however, is left to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
“If it’s a state island, FWC is the one that’ll handle that,” Bacon said. “So with issues with people, you know, drinking underage on the island or setting up encampments, structures, that type of thing. That’s FWC that would handle that.”
When asked how a stewardship initiative like FOSI’s could be developed in this area, Bacon said interested parties would need to work with the DEP.
“They’d have to get with the aquatic preserve that’s in that area or the DEP agency that is managing those particular islands,” he said. “They’ll get with them, and say, look, we want to set up a citizen support organization.”
The Islander reached out to the DEP for comment by email but, as of press time June 17, the DEP had not responded to questions.