BENONA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — An adventurer is back in the water after his sailboat washed ashore near Shelby last week, though it wasn’t smooth sailing to get back underway.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the Deja Vu Odyssey was afloat and headed to Pentwater, according to Steve Beukema, who helped throughout the process.

A video taken at about 1 p.m. Wednesday by Rachel Schultz shows the Deja Vu Odyssey on the water.

When they heard the news of British-born adventurer Jonathan Baxter’s ship getting stuck on the beach, many community members worked to help. On Sunday, dozens of people gathered to dig out the sand from around the sailboat by hand. Though they made some progress, it became clear that the situation required heavy equipment, Beukema said.

Dan Hallack, the owner of Hallack Contracting in Hart, told News 8 he obtained the necessary permissions to dig around the boat. Then, over the course of a few hours Monday morning, Hallack said he was able to make the boat float. Hallack said he has no intentions of charging Baxter.

Though Hallack managed to get the boat floating, he said the Deja Vu Odyssey still couldn’t make it through the sandbars. The sailboat was having problems with its engine, according to Beukema.

Beukema told News 8 that on Tuesday, a work boat went ahead of the Deja Vu Odyssey, creating a channel for the sailboat to cross the sandbars. The plan worked and the Deja Vu Odyssey was free by Tuesday evening.

Beukema said Baxter had some more trouble with a sandbar early Wednesday because of engine issues and a lack of wind, but the sailor ultimately got back underway by early afternoon.