SAN FRANCISCO —
Nearly two dozen people who were enjoying a bachelor party on what’s billed as San Francisco Bay’s only “floating wine tasting room” are OK after their boat hit a shoal near Alcatraz Island and began sinking Friday night, officials said.
The 45-foot Neptune hit the shoal around 8:42 p.m. and started taking on water after the impact left a 1-foot gash in the side of the boat, U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Lt. j.g. Josh Dykman said.
The boat’s captain tried to steer the stricken vessel to San Francisco’s Pier 39. But the boat started having rudder issues and began to sink about 300 feet from the pier, Dykman said.
Three Coast Guard boats took all 22 passengers and crewmembers off the vessel and brought them to the pier, Dykman said. San Francisco fire and San Francisco police boats also responded. There were no injuries.
“We were only in the boat for maybe about 20 minutes or so,” Matthew Rice, the party’s guest of honor, told KGO-TV. “We were coming around Alcatraz checking it out and all of a sudden it was like boom, just like a big jolt and the next thing we knew the Coast Guard boats came in and got us off.”
The Neptune is a 1958 motor vessel operated by San Francisco Bay Boat Cruises LLC, which offers “specialty voyages” on San Francisco Bay, according to the company’s website.
The boat is certified to carry 42 passengers, according to the company.
“It was just an unfortunate event,” said Melissa McDowell, who operates the cruise boat as family-run business, along with her husband and adult daughter.
All three family members were on board at the time, and assisted the passengers off the boat, McDowell said.
The captain of the boat is the tiny company’s only employee, McDowell said.
“Every one of our passengers were amazing,” she said. “They followed instructions and were good humored about it.”
The cause of the incident is under investigation. The damaged boat was towed to Sausalito Boat Works where it will be repaired. There were no reports of pollution, Dykman said.
National, International News
Related Photos
-
This image provided by KTVU-TV shows some of the 22 rescued passengers on the pier Friday Oct.12, 2012 in San Francisco. A U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said the wine-tasting boat, Neptune hit a shoal near Alcatraz Island and began sinking. Nearly two dozen people who were enjoying a boat ride on what's billed as San Francisco Bay's only "floating wine tasting room" are OK after their vessel hit a shoal near Alcatraz Island and started sinking Friday night. U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Lt. j.g. Josh Dykman says the 45-foot Neptune hit the shoal around 8:42 p.m. and started taking on water after the impact left a 1-foot gash in the side of the boat. The boat's captain tried to get it back to Pier 39, where the boat is docked, but the captain had difficulty navigating the vessel and it started sinking. Dykman says three Coast Guard boats took all 22 passengers and crewmembers off the vessel and brought them back to the pier. There were no injuries.(AP Photo/KTVU-TV) The Associated Press
Discussion
22 saved from sinking boat in San Francisco Bay
- National, International News
-
-
Man shot by FBI had ties to Boston bombing suspect
A Chechen immigrant shot to death in Florida after an altercation with an FBI agent implicated himself in a triple slaying that officials believe may have been connected to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, authorities said.
-
WHO: Scientific red tape mars efforts vs. virus
International efforts to combat a new pneumonia-like virus that has now killed 22 people are being slowed by unclear rules and competition for the potentially profitable rights to disease samples, the head of the World Health Organization warned Thursday.
-
Jurors deadlock on Jodi Arias penalty; retrial set
Jurors who spent five months determining Jodi Arias’ fate couldn’t decide whether she should get life in prison or die for murdering her boyfriend, sending prosecutors back to the drawing board to rehash the shocking case of sex, lies and violence to another 12 people.
-
I-5 bridge collapses in Washington state
An Interstate 5 bridge over a river north of Seattle collapsed Thursday evening, dumping vehicles and people into the water, the Washington State Patrol said.
-
Today in History for Friday, May 24, 2013
Today is Friday, May 24, the 144th day of 2013. There are 221 days left in the year.
-
Wave of attacks kills at least 95 in Iraq
A wave of attacks killed at least 95 people in Shiite and Sunni areas of Iraq on Monday, officials said, pushing the death toll over the past week to more than 240 and extending one of the most sustained bouts of sectarian violence the country has seen in years.
-
Arias attorneys will put one witness on: Arias
Complaining that Jodi Arias’ sensational murder case has become a modern-day “witch trial,” her lawyers tried to quit in the middle of the death-penalty phase Monday, then said they will call only one witness: Arias.
-
Oklahoma twister tracked path of 1999 tornado
Monday’s powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999.
-
Dozens killed as tornado ravages Oklahoma City area
A powerful late-afternoon tornado leveled much of this Oklahoma community Monday, killing at least 51 people. Reporters on helicopters flying above the scene described the scene as “devastating.”
-
Today in History for Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Today is Tuesday, May 21, the 141st day of 2013. There are 224 days left in the year.
- More National, International News Headlines
-
