PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Vikki Broyles makes it a point to walk through Portsmouth City Park as often as she can, bypassing places in Chesapeake to come here instead.

“Rudy and I love coming here,” said Broyles, with her dog Rudy. “[But] it is so unsightly because this is a beautiful park. This is just a hidden gem in Portsmouth.”

She is talking about an abandoned vessel, the Troy, that has been floating up and down along the river until it finally got tied up to a tree, now sitting on the river bottom.

“Every six months or so, a mystery boat just shows up on the shoreline,” Broyles said. “This is not the first one. This is the third one in the past year.”

The derelict vessel became a magnate for onlookers.

“It does not bother me,” she said with a laugh. “Now, when it was down there, there were all kinds of people that would gather around it, taking pictures of it. They were scoping it out like, ”Oh, this could be my next big adventure.'”

City Park Attendant Mitch Klau said the boat has been ransacked, and 10 On Your Side’s examination inside the vessel proves that true.

“Before the police put a sign on to move it, the doors were open for people to come on board and take stuff,” Klau said.

So, what has to happen to get the Troy off the river bottom and out of the water?

Zach Widgeon, a spokesperson for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, knows all about the Troy.

“We sent an officer out there,” Widgeon said. “He is currently working out details. He’s made contact with the owner. He’s even working with her to try to get it out without having to issue any paperwork.”

Widgeon said the Troy’s owner will have seven days to move the vessel.

“After seven days, if it not removed then we are going to have to meet with her, find out why it hasn’t been moved,” Widgeon said. “However, we’re hoping that within the next seven days, we’ll be on the correct path to having it removed.”

Widgeon said the VMRC has already given Portsmouth $121,336 to remove six vessels, including the most recent one called the Happy Nesbus hanging off the seawall in downtown Portsmouth.

“The grant money they received was specifically for certain vessels that were listed out in their grant application,” Widgeon said, “and so they can’t unilaterally change that money over to fund this one.”

Worse, the derelict vessel funding program is coming to an end.

“The program is done and is not being refunded,” he said. “So, all the funds, to my knowledge, were given out.”

The next General Assembly session will have to take up the issue to provide new funding to remove more derelict vessels from area waterways.

“We appreciate your looking out for these vessels, and a lot of times when you call me, sometimes it’s the first I hear of them,” Widgeon said, “but luckily this time, we were working with the owner, and we’re hoping that it’s going to be a minimal process getting this boat up and out of the way of people.”

Broyles just wants people to enjoy what she does, without the unsightly vessel.

“Do it Portsmouth, let’s clean it up,” Broyles said. “Clean it up. Get it out of the water. Yes, let everyone enjoy this beautiful view. You know, … sometimes people need a little push, and you are probably that little push.”