Classic Sausalito Sloop ‘Pronto II’ Has Met Her End

News of Pronto II’s imminent demise about a month ago sent ripples through the sailing community, and for a moment, it looked as if a miracle might materialize. Sadly, Pronto II is no more. The boat was crushed up at the Army Corps of Engineers’ ramp in Sausalito sometime last week.

“They needed more room because of all the boats from the big, windy day that blew everything to the Sausalito side,” said Lon Woodrum, referring to the October 26 north-northeasterly gale that dislodged a number of boats and sent them to the Sausalito waterfront. “They had a dozen boats that they had to get rid of.”

Pronto II, which we feature in this month’s Sightings, had been at the Army Corps ramp for several weeks, during which time a few people expressed interest in resurrecting the boat — most people were saying ‘rebuild’ instead of ‘refit’, which is a ferociously expensive undertaking.

In the end, timely support did not materialize enough to save the boat.

We tip our hats to those who put in their time, money and passion for San Francisco’s maritime history to try to save Pronto II. Sadly, it was not meant to be.