Amy Graff
SFGate, San Francisco
(TNS)
Oct. 1—A 36-foot-long sportfishing boat remained parked on San Francisco’s Ocean Beach on Tuesday morning, two days after five people were rescued from the vessel, which was taking on water as it was rocked by rough surf, according to officials and TowBoatUS.
Amid a spell of unusually hot weather in the city, many people are walking the stretch of beach along the Great Highway at Quintara Street and wondering what the story is behind this stranded boat. Longtime SF resident Lauraine Edir said she first noticed it as she was driving by Monday and assumed it was a U.S. Coast Guard boat.
“I’ve lived out here 30 years, and it’s the first time I’ve seen something like that,” she said. “Actually, I thought they were filming a movie. I thought it was a film set at first.” When she went on a walk Tuesday morning, she realized that was not the case, and she was struck by the boat’s size.
The San Francisco Fire Department rescued five people from the boat at around 2 p.m. Sunday, according to Capt. Justin Schorr, a spokesperson for the department. Video footage posted on social media showed the vessel caught in the surf break. A Coast Guard helicopter flew overhead.
While the rescue was a success with no injuries, Schorr said situations like this can be tricky, as first responders have to deal with not only waves breaking toward shore but also tides and currents. “The water can be pulling and pushing at different times, so it’s very dangerous and very unpredictable,” Schorr said. “The important thing to learn from this is everyone had a personal flotation device and they were able to work with rescuers to make sure everyone was accounted for safe.”
Phil Delano, with TowBoatUS, a San Francisco area company that offers boat towing, salvage and other services, said he got a call from the boat about a mechanical problem and was ready to assist with a tow, but after the boat drifted into the surf line, safely extracting it became too difficult.
“It’s not uncommon for this to happen, but it doesn’t happen every day,” he said. “This is a little unique on Ocean Beach. We’ve got pretty good weather, so the boat is more intact than they usually are.”
The boat is scheduled to be removed in the next two days, according to Maria Nunn, safety officer with Parker Diving Services, a company specializing in the cleanup of stranded and sunken vessels. Nunn said the boat’s fuel has been removed by technicians sporting white Tyvek suits and gloves, as required by law.
“We’re working with the owner of the vessel to have it removed as soon as possible,” Julian Espinoza, a spokesperson for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area that includes Ocean Beach, wrote in an email to SFGATE. “Part of that process involves the removal of fuel and oil from the vessel. This is standard practice for disabled vessels and some of that work has already been completed.”
The U.S. Coast Guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story.
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