Two vessels recovered after one sinks off Santa Cruz County coast

SEACLIFF — A 53-foot powerboat being towed near Seacliff sank and crews were working to salvage the vessel throughout the weekend into Monday.

A salvage company was towing the boat — heading to Moss Landing — when the vessel began to break up off Seacliff State Beach, said Eddie Rhee-Pizano, lifeguard supervisor for California State Parks. State Parks was monitoring the coast for flotsam.

“They’ve been going on for a while,” Rhee-Pizano said of the salvage crews.

No one was aboard either vessel on Monday.

“We assisted on Friday with our ski to make sure there was nobody on board,” Rhee-Pizano said. “We’re just on the beach advising them if anything washes up.”

National Marine Sanctuaries West Coast Regional Office was investigating to ensure the wreckage had minimal impact to the protected coastline.

National Marine Sanctuaries spokeswoman Amity Wood said the boat sank Friday. She said a trimaran — a triple-hulled sailboat — also sank Friday and was being brought to the same scene of the powerboat — prompting numerous 911 calls for assistance throughout the weekend.

“The cabin cruiser was having issues,” Wood said. “The vessel was falling apart when it was under tow.”

There was no fuel in the boat’s tanks, she said.

“We’ve got a professional salvager out there to remove the debris right now,” Wood said.

Fuel could harm the protected ecosystem, she said. Another concern: toxic materials from the structure of the disintegrating vessel.

Central Fire Battalion Chief Anthony Cefaloni confirmed there were no rescues and plans were underway for the salvage crews to tow the boats to Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor.

Coast Guard Sector Monterey did not immediately comment Monday afternoon.