Search Suspended for 3 Missing Boaters in SF Bay Capsizing
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search Wednesday evening for three people who remain missing after a 49-foot cabin cruiser capsized and sank near Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, killing one person and leaving 16 others rescued. The vessel, named the Volare, went down around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday after being struck by a wave in 5-foot swells, according to Fox News.
The Incident
The Volare, a 49-foot Marine Trader trawler built in 1980 and home-ported in Stockton, California, was carrying 20 adults — all family members and close friends — who had gathered to scatter the ashes of a loved one. The group had departed from the San Francisco Marina Yacht Harbor, passed under the Golden Gate Bridge twice, and visited Angel Island before heading back across the bay.
As the vessel returned, it was struck by a wave, listed heavily to starboard, lost stability, and quickly rolled over approximately 600 yards southeast of Alcatraz Island. Coast Guard Sector San Francisco Commander Capt. Jarod Toczko said survivor accounts indicated “the vessel took a wave and was listing heavily and lost a little bit of stability, and then it quickly rolled over,” as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Victims and Survivors
The deceased was identified as Clifford Joseph Boisa, 79, of Rio Oso in Sutter County — a retired reserve deputy who served the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office from 1987 to 2001. A dog aboard the vessel also died.
Three people remain missing: Carol Boisa (sister of the captain), Jackie Boisa (Clifford’s wife), and a family friend identified only as Tondra. According to CBS News Bay Area, the boat’s owner and captain, John Edward Boisa, 62, said, “It’s hard to put into words. I love my sister. I love Jackie. They said Tondra was a new friend, but she was a kind and fun person.”
Sixteen people were rescued, with three hospitalized and later released. The remaining 13 were treated at a reunification center. Officials believe the missing passengers may be trapped inside the sunken vessel, which rests approximately 120 to 130 feet underwater in a busy shipping channel.
The Search Effort
The Coast Guard conducted an extensive search operation lasting 23 hours, deploying 11 surface vessels and four aircraft that covered approximately 950 square nautical miles and more than 1,700 miles of search track. The search was suspended at sunset Wednesday.
“Suspending an active search is one of the most difficult things we do as Coast Guard commanders,” Capt. Toczko said during a news conference. “Our goal is always to bring home families’ loved ones.” He added that crews had “completely saturated the search area,” as reported by NBC News.
Heroic Rescues by Good Samaritans
Fishermen Mike Montoya and Justin Marceline, who made a last-minute decision to go fishing that day, were the first to arrive at the scene. They rescued eight or nine people from the water before official responders arrived.
“It was like Titanic in real life,” Marceline told ABC7 News. “People were banging on the glass, and there’s not much you can do except grab the people from the water.” Marceline recalled pulling one woman from the water who told him she didn’t want to die. “I told her I’m not going to let you die,” he said.
Montoya described the chaotic scene: “There was so much debris on the water and people everywhere. I couldn’t tell what was a person and what wasn’t.”
Investigation and Salvage Challenges
The cause of the capsize remains under investigation. Officials found no evidence of the fire initially reported by callers, concluding that what was thought to be smoke was likely steam from the sinking vessel. The National Transportation Safety Board has been made aware of the incident but has not opened an investigation as of Wednesday.
San Francisco police said crews must first locate the vessel using sonar before deploying an underwater drone to assess whether it can be safely recovered. Divers generally cannot operate safely beyond 120 feet, and the vessel’s location in a busy shipping channel with poor visibility and limited slack tide windows — approximately one hour per day — makes any salvage operation extremely difficult.
Weather Conditions Under Scrutiny
The National Weather Service had not issued a Small Craft Advisory for San Francisco Bay at the time of the accident. However, actual winds at Fort Point measured 20 to 22 mph sustained with gusts up to 30 mph — significantly stronger than forecast. Forecast models had substantially misread the regional pressure pattern, missing a stronger-than-expected area of high pressure over Nevada, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. An outgoing current may have further steepened the waves.
What’s Next
The search has transitioned from rescue to recovery. Officials are assessing the feasibility of raising the Volare from the bay floor, which could provide critical evidence about what caused the tragedy. The Boisa family, in a statement, said: “Everyone involved, all of the loved and cherished family members and friends, are grieving this loss.”
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie called the incident “heartbreaking” and praised the response of first responders as “nothing short of heroic.” The Coast Guard confirmed that the missing passengers’ families were notified before the search was suspended.