Yachta Yachta Yachta | Facebook screenshot

May 16. By Dave Yochum. Yachta Yachta Yachta, the venue for countless parties and special occasions on Lake Norman, will be put up for auction June 5 at Safe Harbor Peninsula Yacht Club where the luxurious houseboat is docked.

There’s no minimum bid at this point, but club officials expect to receive that information soon. Apparently the club has legal authority to seize the vessel.

One provision: The club says the vessel must be removed from the property within 72 hours. It’s unclear if it is operational or must be towed. Complicating matters is the fact that there’s not an abundance of slips big enough, commercial or otherwise.

Background

Brady

Yachta Yachta Yachta and Capt. Brian Brady hosted private parties and successful fundraisers, sometimes daily during warm weather—and in chilly weather with the top deck curtains down. Brady could not be reached for comment.

He lost the ability to board passengers at the club in 2016 when management said “membership got too big and it’s just not a good fit.”

Charter business changes

Dr. Mike Miltich is one of three captains of Carolina Grace, a charter vessel out of Safe Harbor Kings Point Marina in Cornelius.

He said the business doesn’t catch the public’s eye like it used to. “Perhaps the wow factor wore off,” said Miltich, a former member of the Cornelius Town Board.

Miltich (in white) aboard Carolina Grace

The vessel’s name dates back to the 1990s and the hit television program “Seinfeld,” where characters used the catchphrase “yada, yada, yada.”

When it comes to moving the vessel within 72 hours, there’s not an abundance of slips that are big enough, commercial or otherwise.

Quotable

“It’s a complicated process to get the necessary permits to operate a larger charter boat marina, consequently many of the marinas have stopped their charter boat operations,” said Miltich, explaining that pump-out stations add to the complexity of finding dock space.

Safe Harbor officials said the auction, at 11 am June 5, will be live, not online.