Boat Accidents San Diego

Two sportfishing boats carrying a total of 32 people collided off the coast of San Diego in predawn darkness Tuesday. One vessel sank and the other was extensively damaged. People on board the boats were rescued from lifeboats or directly off the deck by two sportfishing craft that arrived on the scene shortly after the collision. All 32 survived the crash, with only three people suffering minor injuries, according to the Coast Guard.

Skipper John Bertrand said he heard a loud crack that sounded like a cannon going off. He thought the mast had broken, but the boat began to fold like a sheet of cardboard in the center. Helmsman Rod Davis said, "I think we're gonna sink." Davis looked at designer Iain Murray, who was minding the running backstays, to confirm his assessment of the situation. Murray said, "Yes, we're gonna sink."

A yearlong investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard failed to determine the cause of a shipwreck off San Clemente Island that left a San Diego fisherman and his crewman dead, but it did conclude that it probably was not a result of Navy shelling. The officer in charge of the investigation of the February, 1986, wreck of the Cindy Faye said Tuesday that he concluded that "the most likely probable cause" was that the boat became disabled in heavy surf and was driven onto rocks. Lt.

Team New Zealand handed John Bertrand's new oneAustralia its first loss in a close race in shifty Pacific Ocean winds Monday and continued to dominate the challenger series at the America's Cup. Late in the afternoon, the training yacht France 2 capsized about seven miles off the coast after it lost its keel in 15 knot winds. The 13 crew members were fine, other than being a bit stunned, syndicate spokeswoman Barbara Wolfe-Barrielle said. It was the same yacht that was dropped by a crane Dec.

Skipper John Bertrand said he heard a loud crack that sounded like a cannon going off. He thought the mast had broken, but the boat began to fold like a sheet of cardboard in the center. Helmsman Rod Davis said, "I think we're gonna sink." Davis looked at designer Iain Murray, who was minding the running backstays, to confirm his assessment of the situation. Murray said, "Yes, we're gonna sink."

The mast broke on one of Italy's two America's Cup boats as they sailed off San Diego. The skipper was John Kolius, an American working for the Il Moro di Venezia syndicate and sailing the "trial horse" boat against skipper Paul Cayard's primary boat. The incident was not expected to be a serious setback for Il Moro, which has three boats and the deepest resources of all the syndicates.

A French America's Cup yacht rear-ended Spirit of Australia during a practice race off San Diego, knocking both sloops out of practice races for at least two days. The collision occurred as the boats rounded the leeward mark at the end of the second leg of the America's Cup course. The Australian boat slowed as its spinnaker dropped into the water. The French boat, Ville de Paris, was unable to steer clear and rode up onto Spirit of Australia's transom for about a minute and a half.

The French team's yacht for the upcoming America's Cup races was damaged Wednesday during an accident in the team compound on Mission Bay. A piece of equipment used to lift the yacht into the water failed, dropping the yacht and forcing the keel up through the deck. There was no structural damage to the hull, the French syndicate said. But the yacht's deck suffered substantial damage and the mast is beyond repair.

A chase boat for the French America's Cup syndicate saved a disabled 38-foot power cruiser with three adults and two children aboard from blowing onto the rocks at Point Loma Sunday, and an Italian boat nearly sank while under tow in heavy seas at the mouth of San Diego Bay. Pascal Apicella, commander of the Le Defi Francais tender fleet, was in a 27-foot, outboard-powered inflatable boat and Serge Guillaume and saw a Coast Guard helicopter hovering over the cruiser.

The newest Il Moro di Venezia boat sustained a hole in its starboard side after a collision with the jury boat before the start of Sunday's practice race for America's Cup challengers. Almost drifting in light wind, Marc Pajot sailed France's new Ville de Paris into the lead at the first mark, but then the wind died completely and the race was abandoned. Il Moro spokesman Stefano Roberti described the damage as a hole two feet by half a foot, two feet above the waterline.

The French team's yacht for the upcoming America's Cup races was damaged Wednesday during an accident in the team compound on Mission Bay. A piece of equipment used to lift the yacht into the water failed, dropping the yacht and forcing the keel up through the deck. There was no structural damage to the hull, the French syndicate said. But the yacht's deck suffered substantial damage and the mast is beyond repair.

The newest Il Moro di Venezia boat sustained a hole in its starboard side after a collision with the jury boat before the start of Sunday's practice race for America's Cup challengers. Almost drifting in light wind, Marc Pajot sailed France's new Ville de Paris into the lead at the first mark, but then the wind died completely and the race was abandoned. Il Moro spokesman Stefano Roberti described the damage as a hole two feet by half a foot, two feet above the waterline.

A French America's Cup yacht rear-ended Spirit of Australia during a practice race off San Diego, knocking both sloops out of practice races for at least two days. The collision occurred as the boats rounded the leeward mark at the end of the second leg of the America's Cup course. The Australian boat slowed as its spinnaker dropped into the water. The French boat, Ville de Paris, was unable to steer clear and rode up onto Spirit of Australia's transom for about a minute and a half.

A chase boat for the French America's Cup syndicate saved a disabled 38-foot power cruiser with three adults and two children aboard from blowing onto the rocks at Point Loma Sunday, and an Italian boat nearly sank while under tow in heavy seas at the mouth of San Diego Bay. Pascal Apicella, commander of the Le Defi Francais tender fleet, was in a 27-foot, outboard-powered inflatable boat and Serge Guillaume and saw a Coast Guard helicopter hovering over the cruiser.

The mast broke on one of Italy's two America's Cup boats as they sailed off San Diego. The skipper was John Kolius, an American working for the Il Moro di Venezia syndicate and sailing the "trial horse" boat against skipper Paul Cayard's primary boat. The incident was not expected to be a serious setback for Il Moro, which has three boats and the deepest resources of all the syndicates.

Preliminary investigation into a collision of two sportfishing boats carrying 32 people indicates that one skipper was asleep at the helm and the other was absent from the bridge, a Coast Guard investigator said Thursday. General charges of negligence are likely to be made, jeopardizing the licenses of Aztec operator Lorna Roberts and Temptress operator Craig Stanton, said Lt. Larry Solberg of the Coast Guard's San Diego marine safety office.

Team New Zealand handed John Bertrand's new oneAustralia its first loss in a close race in shifty Pacific Ocean winds Monday and continued to dominate the challenger series at the America's Cup. Late in the afternoon, the training yacht France 2 capsized about seven miles off the coast after it lost its keel in 15 knot winds. The 13 crew members were fine, other than being a bit stunned, syndicate spokeswoman Barbara Wolfe-Barrielle said. It was the same yacht that was dropped by a crane Dec.

Preliminary investigation into a collision of two sportfishing boats carrying 32 people indicates that one skipper was asleep at the helm and the other was absent from the bridge, a Coast Guard investigator said Thursday. General charges of negligence are likely to be made, jeopardizing the licenses of Aztec operator Lorna Roberts and Temptress operator Craig Stanton, said Lt. Larry Solberg of the Coast Guard's San Diego marine safety office.

Two sportfishing boats carrying a total of 32 people collided off the coast of San Diego in predawn darkness Tuesday. One vessel sank and the other was extensively damaged. People on board the boats were rescued from lifeboats or directly off the deck by two sportfishing craft that arrived on the scene shortly after the collision. All 32 survived the crash, with only three people suffering minor injuries, according to the Coast Guard.

A yearlong investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard failed to determine the cause of a shipwreck off San Clemente Island that left a San Diego fisherman and his crewman dead, but it did conclude that it probably was not a result of Navy shelling. The officer in charge of the investigation of the February, 1986, wreck of the Cindy Faye said Tuesday that he concluded that "the most likely probable cause" was that the boat became disabled in heavy surf and was driven onto rocks. Lt.