19 people stranded when sailboat mast breaks in California storm. ‘Recipe for danger’
As the second atmospheric river storm pummeled the state, 19 boaters sat stranded off the California coast, rescuers said.
With the gale force winds brought on by the storm, a 40-foot sailboat’s mast broke off near Alamitos Bay in Long Beach, Brian Fisk, a firefighter and public information officer for the Long Beach Fire Department, told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
The ship ended up slammed against rocks near the Long Beach breakwater, Fisk said, adding that the gale force winds and “size of the swells” were “just a recipe for danger.”
“They were pretty much helpless without a sail,” Fisk said.
Those aboard the boat sent out a distress call over Channel 16, a channel reserved for emergency marine traffic, according to Fisk.
After receiving the call, Fisk said lifeguards made their way to the boaters on two rescue boats.
“The weather not only contributed to the incident itself, but it made the rescue effort difficult,” Fisk said.
While en route, eight people were picked up by another boat “that either heard the emergency traffic call or saw the incident,” Fisk said.
The remaining 11 boaters climbed from the sailboat onto the rocks, where lifeguards reached them and got them to safety, Fisk said.
Of the 19 rescued, Fisk said only one person had “non-life threatening injuries.”
“We were very lucky that we were able to get there quickly,” Fisk said, “ and they were very lucky a passerby, Good Samaritan boat was also in the vicinity.”
This story was originally published February 5, 2024 at 1:50 PM with the headline "19 people stranded when sailboat mast breaks in California storm. ‘Recipe for danger’."
