Rich Moorer, a spokesman for Point Reyes National Seashore, said officials are monitoring the deterioration of the Point Reyes. A potential removal, he said, could be funded by the park.

After years of slow decay, the Point Reyes really started falling apart after it caught fire in 2016, shortly after a photo was posted to Instagram that showed arcing sparks from someone apparently burning steel wool and spinning it, a technique called light painting.

The fire badly damaged the boat's stern. Eventually, the starboard side of its hull — which bore the vessel's much-photographed name — collapsed, and a grinning green skull and crossbones were painted on the front of its cabin.

Still, the tourists come.

On a recent, misty Tuesday, Raj Singh, who owns the Inverness general store in front of the boat, said it is getting more dangerous.

"The last year or so, it's really gotten bad," he said. "It's deteriorated to a point where they have to get rid of it because ... people do stupid things."

The boat was stuck in the mud when Singh, who emigrated from England, bought the store two decades ago. He used to have an outdoor oyster bar next to the store that he called The Sunken Boat, and he sells hoodies with its image.

"Some people don't like the eyesore. And there are people like us who just think it's cool," he said. When it is eventually removed, "we definitely will miss it — but I know a lot of people won't."

Outside, a steady stream of people parked in Singh's parking lot, tromped through the damp grass and crossed a rickety wooden plank fashioned as a bridge over the ankle-deep water flowing in front of the boat after recent rains.

Duncan Shaw, a professional bike rider from Inverness, Scotland, showed up with his neon-green Marin Bikes two-wheeler, shooting selfies with the Point Reyes in the background.

"I just did a little video on Instagram. I said I was in California for a week and haven't seen a cloud in the sky, and as soon as I showed up here, it started raining," like in his oft-wet hometown, Shaw said. "The power of Inverness is far-reaching."

Diana Oppenheim, a yoga teacher who lived for several years in San Francisco but moved home to Detroit during the COVID-19 pandemic, choked up when she saw the Point Reyes. It was her first visit in years.

She used to lead volunteer groups in Point Reyes National Seashore, doing dune restoration followed by yoga on the beach. Often, they would stop at the wreck to rest, eat lunch and take photos.

"If the ship had a life to it, it would have no idea that it was still just sitting and bringing so much joy and awe and mystery to people," she said.

Oppenheim was traveling with her friend, Charity Kahn, a meditation teacher and composer of children's music from Oakland who just released The Vegan Album, brimming with lyrics such as: Oh if you care about animals // And you love 'em and adore 'em // And you wanna be kind // Don't eat 'em anymore.

Kahn said the dilapidated boat, to her, represents the march of time, "even though we try to avoid impermanence."

"It's this human creation on the edge of earth," she said. "And yet, at the same time, it's receding back into earth and becoming earth again."

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