A day after a large pleasure boat sank in San Francisco Bay near Alcatraz Island, the tragedy came into sharper and sadder focus: the group aboard was a family holding a memorial service, and the number of people still missing has risen to three.
What officials now say
The vessel, a roughly 50-foot cabin cruiser based out of Stockton, was carrying 20 people, most of them family members, when it capsized Tuesday afternoon about 600 yards from Alcatraz. Fire officials said the passengers were taking part in "some kind of memorial service" when the boat, which may have been swamped by a wave in rough water, went down. A dog aboard also died.
Of the 20, 16 were pulled from the bay, 13 brought to shore and three hospitalized in stable condition, while one person died and three remained missing as of Wednesday. The count of missing had grown from two reported the day before.
The victim
Authorities identified the man who died as Clifford Joseph Boisa, 79, of Sutter County. He was recovered from the water but could not be revived.
A difficult search
The waters where the boat went down are cold, roughly 61 degrees, and the currents strong, a combination that makes any bay rescue a race against time. Officials said the vessel came to rest in deep water in a shipping channel, complicating recovery efforts, and by Wednesday the search had expanded west of the Golden Gate Bridge, into the open ocean, where tides and wind can carry a person far from where they entered the water. The Coast Guard is leading the effort, with fire crews, divers, helicopters and sonar deployed.
What's still unknown
The cause of the sinking remains under investigation. The incident was first reported as a fire, but crews found no flames; the boat appears to have taken on water and capsized. Experienced mariners note that afternoon conditions on the bay, where wind and tide can run against each other, are notorious for turning suddenly rough. For a family that set out to remember a loved one, the outing became a disaster of its own, and, with three people still unaccounted for, one whose full toll was not yet known. Figures reflect what officials had confirmed as of Wednesday and may change as the search continues.
