Rough seas capsized a 21-foot sailboat that washed ashore Wednesday night on the beach behind the Palm Beach estate owned by Nelson Peltz, the former chairman of the board of Wendy’s fast-food chain.
A 76-year-old man was at the helm of the white 1972 sailboat that left Jensen Beach about 10 a.m. Wednesday, according to a report from the Palm Beach Police Department.
The man planned to sail to Jupiter and spend a few nights on his boat, the report said.
But as the boat approached the Jupiter Inlet, rough seas prevented the man from making the turn, and he continued to sail south, eventually also missing the Palm Beach Inlet, police said in the report.
The man tried to turn the boat around to return north, but waves caused the boat to capsize just north of the Peltz estate in the 500 block of North County Road in Palm Beach, the man told police.
A sailboat that wrecked on the beach behind former Wendy’s chairman Nelson Peltz’s Palm Beach estate on Wednesday night is seen Thursday.
The man held onto the back of his boat before finally making it to shore about 20 minutes after capsizing, the report said.
Security that patrols the seawall behind the Peltz home saw the man and heard him calling for help on the beach at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Will Gouin, the estate’s property manager, told the Daily News.
The security guards brought the man to a safe place on the property, called 911 and drove the man to the home’s front gate to meet first responders, who took him to a local hospital, Gouin said.
“He ended up in the shore break, with the tides being high,” said Gouin, who added that there is a hole in the sailboat’s hull and the mast snapped during the day on Thursday. “He said that he got knocked out of the boat and got back in and got knocked out again.”
Debris from a sailboat that wrecked on the beach behind former Wendy’s chairman Nelson Peltz’s Palm Beach home is seen on Friday morning. A crew from the Friends of Palm Beach, which regularly cleans that beach area on Friday mornings, picked up foam and other small items from the sailboat.
Because of the hole in the hull, the boat is not seaworthy and cannot be towed, Palm Beach Police spokesman, Capt. Will Rothrock said.
The man told police that while he has a homeowner’s insurance policy on the boat, he did not have insurance to cover towing and did not have the money to pay the boat to be removed.
The man also said he did not know how many of his things were lost from the sailboat when it capsized, the report said.
A crew from the Friends of Palm Beach helped to clean up some of the debris from the boat on Friday, said Diane Buhler, that group’s founder.
A sailboat that wrecked on the beach behind former Wendy’s chairman Nelson Peltz’s Palm Beach home is seen on Friday morning.
The team picked up some pieces of foam, the top of the boat’s outboard motor and some other items from the sailboat, she said.
“The boat is pretty much intact, which is surprising,” Buhler said. “It’s right up against a groin, so it won’t be intact for much longer.”
The Daily News has contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for more information about the possible fate of the wrecked vessel.
Peltz is internationally known for his past work leading Wendy’s through his role with Trian Partners, the asset management firm he co-founded with fellow investor and Palm Beacher Peter May. Peltz was chairman of the board of Wendy’s until last year, when he stepped aside after 17 years and assumed the role of chairman emeritus, according to CNBC.
Debris from a sailboat that wrecked on the beach behind former Wendy’s chairman Nelson Peltz’s Palm Beach home is seen on Friday morning. A crew from the Friends of Palm Beach, which regularly cleans that beach area on Friday mornings, picked up the top of the boat’s outboard motor and other small items from the sailboat.
Peltz’s 13-acre estate on North County Road includes a beachfront mansion on the east side of the road and a guesthouse to the west. He and wife Claudia Peltz have owned the property since 1987-88, when they assembled it in deals totaling $21 million.
Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com. Subscribe today to support our journalism.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Sailboat wrecks on beach at Palm Beach estate of former Wendy’s chair
