Sailboat Meets Beach at Dana Point
Dana Point in Southern California is no stranger to sailing, with one of its most famous (but sadly deceased) ships, the tall ship replica Pilgrim, having called the area home for many years. Sadly Pilgrim sank at her dock in 2020. On Saturday, Dana Point lost another sailboat, this time off the beach. Our friend Mitch Perkins was cruising social media sailing pages over the weekend when he came across the following post on Reddit. It appears from the video, and the comments, that the person on board was having a lovely day, fishing off Dana Point… until he realized he was in the wrong spot.
Scott Banister captured the incident as it happened last Wednesday.
The first question we have is, is the person onboard OK? It appears a lifeguard entered the water shortly after the boat capsized — he must have been waiting for it to happen. The lifeguard can be seen dragging a person out of the water, then they both begin to walk up the beach. The person appears to be OK.
Our next question is, why was the boat that close to shore in the first place? One can assume the person aboard was focused on his fishing and not paying attention to his surroundings. Big mistake! The answer to this question has been debated widely on the Reddit thread. Many people believe the mariner had no idea of how to handle his boat. Others have a different view and say he had engine troubles.
We searched the news pages for a report or more information on the grounding but found nothing. Were any of our readers in the vicinity, and do they know anything about the incident?
A couple of the comments that stood out in the Reddit thread talked about the number of sailboats that are washed up onto this, and other, SoCal beaches. Reddit user donorcycle wrote, “This is common around here. Here as in the beach towns. If you’re out and about and something goes wrong with the boat, they head for what they know and unfortunately it’s usually the beach.” And Both-Invite-8857 commented, “I went to school in Santa Barbara and lived in Isla Vista. You’d be surprised at how often we would see this happen. We’d get a yacht on the beach once a month.”
Regardless of how or why this happened, it’s a good reminder to us all to always pay attention to our surroundings.
Wow, huge surf from the Hurricane in baja??? My 1st guess, rogue set came in….
It appears that the sailboat used an outboard for aux power. You can see it pretty clearly around the 4:10 mark. Nothing wrong with that, but it never appeared to be working during the video. And yet he ended up where he did with his sail cover on, so perhaps he ran out of fuel? Or was anchored and dragged his anchor?
So sad. Looks like engine inoperable? Seems like maybe time to unfurl the headsail and make way off the surf? Lastly, weigh anchor? Poor fellow. I see why he wanted to be there (assuming he went there on purpose). It is a beautiful spot! But lee shores are always the main hazard on the west coast facing the Pacific Ocean.
For the record…. this was sent to me by Captain Rodney Mayer.
I don’t see an anchor line. The outboard seems to be locked in the up out of the water position. So he’s just drifting. Just before the first wave hits him, we can see him casting with his fishing pole, obviously still fishing even though he is about to get caught in the surf. Seems clueless to his immediate peril. Looks like maybe a Catalina 22. Initially, the centerboard hits bottom and acts like a fixed keel. But at the end, the boat is sitting on it’s bottom, not it’s keel. The centerboard probably got knocked back into the hull slot. I would think they could tow the boat back out past the waves, once some assistance arrived.
No sculling ,no back up anchor . Just glad only ego and finances impacted ? Hopefully lesson learned .Get back on that horse sir .
At 0:50 mark he still seems to be casting his fishing rod! ?
Engine up, sails covered, I guess he forgot to lock the keel up, and kick up the rudder before beaching it.
Now get the trailer and go home. Oops this is not the ramp. Just a nice day out drift fishing. WOW clueless.
So glad he was ok and made it with the help of the lifeguard.
I lived near and kept a boat in Dana Point for 15 years. Boats washing up on the beach or hitting the Point happened numerous times each year. Usually was a powerboat on autopilot coming from Newport Beach:) Incompetence is a dangerous thing.