4 displaced after sailboat sinks in Pacifica
PACIFICA, Calif. (KGO) -- Four people who were traveling around the world are stuck living out of a motel for now after their sailboat sank in Pacifica.
"It wasn't a matter of running aground as much as being pushed aground," Tahnee Garver said, the co-owner and first mate of the 33-foot sailboat Hecate Spray, which came ashore last weekend and then sank Wednesday during efforts to tow it free.
On Thursday, ABC7 News found the mostly inexperienced crew of four stranded in a motel room, living off charity, with no money left and their investment on the bottom. "Everything is gone. No hope to rebuild her or get her back," Tahnee said.
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She bought the boat with her friend from the trucking industry, Toni Claar, who set out on this trip with ambition. "I wanted to be the first trans female to circumnavigate the globe," she said.
The journey lasted two days. Perhaps: What remains of the boat, has now become a major hazard for surfers at Linda Mar Beach as tides expose and then hide the mast. "It's steel and harder than my head," surfer Peter PIrolli said.
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"You could get stuck with a foot tangled or with metal or something. It's dangerous," Joseph Rizzo said.
Legally, Tony and Tahnee bear financial responsibility as owners, but they claim to have no money and the wreck fills with more sand every day.
Pacifica police spent Thursday morning with the Coast Guard, hearing all the bad news about tens of thousands of dollars for removal costs. "There is unknown contents. Unknown hazards. Floating debris," Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Jeremiah Winston said.
And so, the saga of a sailboat named Hecate Spray. She left San Francisco Bay on a voyage around the world, but got only so far as Pacifica. For her crew, the opposite of a bon voyage.
Click here if you'd like to make a donation on GoFundMe to help the crew.
