Nature taking toll on social media famed old boat

Time is apparently running out for California’s “Inverness Shipwreck,” an old wooden boat that became an Instagram star as it rotted on a shoreline north of San Francisco.

Recent storms have made a shambles of the forlorn vessel named Point Reyes, which was already deteriorated from the over-attention of visitors to the Marin County coast, local media reported this week. “The National Park Service is aware that additional damage occurred to the vessel as a result of the most recent storms and tides,” Point Reyes National Seashore officials said in a statement.

 “While we recognise that this is a local landmark and destination, the NPS is evaluating options to remove it safely.”

The boat was built in the 1940s and was used for transportation and fishing before it was abandoned years ago, aground near the community of Inverness on a section of the Tomales Bay shoreline that is part of the Point Reyes National Seashore.

It then became a tourist draw and a darling of social media. Instagram alone has more than 5,500 images of the Point Reyes, local media reported. Now, the scene that caught the eyes of so many photographers is just about gone.

Jim Fox, chief of the local volunteer fire department, told the Chronicle that the boat is a dangerous nuisance.