Another Powerboat Death at Catalina

In the aftermath of last weekend’s tragic late-night boating accident in Catalina’s Descanso Bay that took the lives of two young boaters, another on-the-water fatality occurred yesterday, 26 miles away at Two Harbors. 

According to an L.A. County Sheriff’s Department release, 22-year-old Belinda ‘Bel’ Joanne Nguyen was struck in the head by a powerboat’s prop at 12:10 yesterday while snorkeling in the Isthmus Cove mooring field. Baywatch paramedics as well as Harbor Patrol and Sheriff’s Deptartment personnel responded to the accident, but she could not be saved. Ms. Nguyen’s body was airlifted by helicopter to the L.A. County Coroner’s Office, and an investigation is being conducted by the Marina del Rey Sheriff’s Station.

One source reports that the vessel that struck the young swimmer was in the process of picking up a mooring when the incident occurred. Nguyen was an employee of The Galley restaurant, and formerly of the Harbor Department. 

Naturally, the tight-knit Two Harbors community is in shock and grieving over the accident, especially in light of last weekend’s fatalities in nearby Avalon, and the tragic deaths last December at Avalon of a popular liveaboard sailor and a heroic harbor patrolman who died trying to keep a dive vessel from grounding on the beach. 

Let the recent deaths serve as reminders to all boat operators and watersports enthusiasts that a moment’s inattention can have tragic consequences — especially in crowded harbors.