Boat Caught in Dramatic Capsize Identified

You might have seen the footage on the news, and you might have heard the boat incorrectly called a catamaran. But the Andrew Mulligan — which swamped and sank just below the surface of San Francisco Bay on June 21 — is a classic Master Mariners winner.

"It’s a 21-ft no-mans-land double-ended gaff ketch," said Kit Stycket, who used to own the Mulligan with her husband, Steve Canright. "It’s won the Master Mariners in the gaff three class. We got second once, and won in 2009 and 2010. The boat has been sailed to Stockton and back on various ‘gunkhole’ cruises with the NPS and the Alma, all on her own power and sail."

Stycket said that the Mulligan is a tricky boat to sail, and like all wooden boats, has several quirks and is temperature- and weather-sensitive. "When you don’t sail a wooden boat for a long time, and when you put the rail down, some water comes in and you have to bail," Stycket said, adding that she and her husband hadn’t had the Mulligan in the water for three or four years before they sold it. 

While Stycket hasn’t been in touch with the crew following the capsize, she suspects that the damage was likely minimal. "That boat floats; it’s wooden. The only thing is the engine was underwater for 24 hours."

We don’t want to be backseat sailors, but we’ll repeat one critique echoed by everyone familiar with this story. Wear. Your. Life jacket. "It’s not a reflection on your sailing ability if you wear a life jacket, it just means you respect the Bay. Because it can be dangerous," Stycket said.

And one more friendly critique to our journalist brethren: It’s not a catamaran.