U.S. Coast Guard crews continued searching Wednesday for three individuals missing nearly a day after a boat carrying 20 family members and friends capsized in the cold, choppy waters near Alcatraz Island. The outing was intended as a memorial service to scatter the ashes of a loved one. One person died, three people were missing, and 16 others were rescued from the waters off San Francisco after a pontoon boat carrying 19 people sank Tuesday afternoon. San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen confirmed one fatality and one missing person initially, with the number of missing later revised by authorities.
Ralph Boisa, whose younger brother's boat was involved, stated that his extended family and close friends were on board to celebrate the life of his daughter, who died over a decade ago and was in her 30s and loved to surf. His older brother, Clifford Boisa, died shortly after being pulled from the water. Clifford's dog also perished in the incident. The three individuals still missing have been identified as Carol Boisa, Clifford's wife Jackie, and a friend of Ralph's daughter. Ralph Boisa, who lives in Washington and was not present, noted the family has endured significant tragedy over the years, having lost another daughter in 1995. "We've gone through a lot of tragedy over the years," he said.
U.S. Coast Guard Captain Jared S. Toczko reported that rescuers had cumulatively scoured 950 square nautical miles (3,260 square kilometers) and planned to continue searching until sundown Wednesday before concluding rescue operations. Toczko would not dismiss the possibility that the missing individuals could still be alive, but also said some could have been trapped inside the three-deck, 49-foot (15-meter) cabin cruiser. "We do know individuals were in the main deck and potentially below deck," he said. Witnesses described seeing people pounding on glass windows, trapped as the boat sank. The exact depth of the sunken vessel has not yet been determined, though its location has been identified. San Francisco Police Commander Brien Hoo stated that once the boat is located, officials will send either divers or an underwater drone to determine if it's feasible to salvage it. If the boat is under 120 feet (37 meters) of water, it would be difficult for divers to get to it, he said.
Witnesses reported “rough seas,” with swells reaching up to 5 feet (1.5 meters), according to San Francisco Fire Department Chief Dean Crispen. Marine weather conditions, however, did not warrant a small craft advisory from the National Weather Service. Fire department spokesperson Lt. Mariano Elias said the vessel, named Volare, was registered out of Stockton, California. Ship-tracking data from VesselFinder indicated the boat departed a San Francisco marina, passed under the Golden Gate Bridge twice, and visited Angel Island State Park before sinking near Alcatraz, the famous maximum-security federal prison which closed more than 60 years ago, on its way back to San Francisco.
Kirk Miller, an experienced local sailor with a master mariner license, suggested that an uneven distribution of passengers could have contributed to the Volare tipping. "As it rocks in the waves, it leans over a little bit," Miller said. "And as it leans over, the stability would decrease. If you had weight down below it acts as ballast. There was nothing in the conditions that were extreme in any regard. There was no massive gust of wind, no huge wave."
Two fishermen, Justin Marceline and Michael Montoya, who were fishing for halibut nearby, reported seeing what they thought was smoke and arrived to find the vessel halfway submerged. They immediately began rescuing people from the water. Marceline recounted seeing people trapped inside the rapidly sinking boat through its windows. He threw lead fishing weights to survivors in the water, hoping they could smash the glass, but they were too weak. "It was like Titanic in real life," he said. "There was stuff everywhere. People were banging on the glass." Montoya estimated they pulled eight or nine people aboard, including the captain, before first responders arrived. Initial callers reported what appeared to be smoke coming from the boat, but San Francisco police officers who first reached the vessel said it was steam.
The boat's owners are listed as John Boisa and Miriam Boisa of Stockton. Ralph Boisa described his brother John as a “very capable and experienced boatsman” who served in the U.S. Navy and often took family out on the bay. His older brother who died, Clifford Boisa, lived on a small prune orchard in Sutter County in the Sacramento Valley and was a volunteer sheriff’s deputy for more than a decade. Ralph Boisa had planned to visit him for his 80th birthday party next month. "He was a happy guy, jovial," Boisa said. "We're pretty broken up here." Sudden immersion in water under 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius) can lead to cold water shock, a condition where people lose dexterity in minutes. That can be dangerous or deadly when trying to escape a sinking watercraft. Toczko said there were life jackets onboard the boat and that some people were rescued wearing them.
