The area just East of Zuniga Jetty is quickly becoming a treaturous area for boaters. There are already several confirmed vessels, sunk and unmarked, in the Anchorage. Continue reading →
What turned out to be a leisurly day boating off the coast of Mission Bay turned into a boaters nightmare. While attempting to enter the Mission Bay Chanel a large set of swells pushed the small vessel into breaking surf. The operator, knowing the vessel would flip in the huge surf if he turned around, throttled up and rode the huge wave several hundred yards to the beach. All of the passengers were able to get off the boat without injury. Continue reading →
Once again faulty wiring looks to be the cause of another boat fire. This one was at the Lowes Coronado Marina. A 55’Cabin Cruiser and a 45’ Trawler were burned beyond repair Thursday night. Vessel Assist San Diego deployed an 8 man crew with two boats and two truckloads of equipment, to secure and remove the first boat, a 45’ Trawler. The second boat, a 55’ Cruiser was sunk after it burned to the decks. The night before, Coronado Fire Department responded in full force, keeping water on the fire from land. The new, million dollar San Diego Harbor fire/police boat, was put into real action and performed as expected. The new 32’ Metal Craft and and its well-trained crew, used its high powered water cannons to attack the fire and keep it from destroying other boats. Continue reading →
Often time’s boats lose power and the boat survives to see another voyage. This was not the case for a 38’ shock sail boat after the operator reported to be out of fuel was repeatedly slammed against the giant sea wall that protects LA/Long Beach Harbor from the Ocean. Life Guards were able to get a line on the boat but the line parted. The giant swell and pounding waves made the conditions too dangerous for even the most experienced Life Guards. Continue reading →
Salvaging a sunken vessel in the open ocean is extremely challenging. A vessel sunk in the surf line even more difficult; salvaging a cement vessel in breaking surf makes for one of the toughest salvage situations. When the 32’ Ferro Cement Vessel grounded on the beach in Huntington Beach Vessel Assist Long Beach made a valiant effort to pull the stricken vessel into deep water. Continue reading →
As the busy Sunday for Vessel Assist San Diego was winding down, Captain Reggie Curry was tying the Vessel Assist Boat “San Diego” to the Vessel Assist San Diego Headquarters Pier, when he heard the call come in for a helicopter that had just crashed. As he got underway he located the crash site just a couple hundred yards from the pier. San Diego Harbor Police arrived on scene just seconds before Captain Reggie. Continue reading →
Thousands of fish suddenly died and are floated to the surface in Puerto Salinas. Just 40 miles south of San Diego Harbor a tragic finding of literally thousands of fish. Mackerel, Halibut, Sardines, Spotted Bass, and White Sea Bass were all found floating and rotting in the little harbor. There are no answers to why this happened. Sources in the harbor reported catching mackerel the night before and storing them in their boats bait tank for a future fishing trip. Continue reading →
A 40′ Sailboat with two crew on board became disabled 130 nautical miles south of San Diego on their way home from Mexico. Vessel Assist Shelter Island, with a two man crew, ran down to the little cove behind Punta Colnett that gave the disabled 40′ sailboat some reprieve from the rough weather. Once in tow Vessel Assist Shelter Island with Captain Reggie Curry and crew aboard towed the disabled sailboat in moderate to rough water back to San Diego. After a typical wait at the Customs Dock the disabled Sailboat was towed to Pearson Fuel Dock for repairs. Continue reading →
Winds clocked at over 55 knots, water spouts, and heavy rain hit San Diego bay blowing boats aground. Vessel Assist San Diego deployed three salvage teams throughout the bay in efforts to salvage vessels before they broke apart on San Diego beaches and jetties. Captain Tony Olson was the on-water salvage coordinator aboard Vessel Assist “Shelter Island.” The locations of the stranded vessels made each salvage effort a dangerous operation. 
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There is a reason why we think San Diego Lifeguards are some of the best in their field. Many days you see them sitting in their towers with zinc on their noses and sunglasses on. Once in a while will you see them swim out to assist a tired swimmer back to shore. One would think that’s all there is to it and that it’s an awesome job… kicking back on the beach and going for a swim every now and then. Better yet, driving a boat around looking at the scenery and relaxing while making sure our boaters are safe. Well nothing could be further from the truth for the crew who risked their lives to save others. In an attempt to go above and beyond their responsibility, the Lifeguards tried to get a flipped over boat into position to save it and ended up in danger themselves.
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