Washed Up Boat in Summerland Causes Maritime Safety Concerns
John Palminteri
SUMMERLAND, Calif. (KEYT) – During the intense winds Monday, a sailboat broke away from its anchor spot and ended up on the beach in Summerland.
It was immediately a serious concern if it were to break up and have pieces go into the ocean. Also if it had oil and gas leaking out.
It was originally around Butterfly Beach east of Santa Barbara and came ashore near a concrete wall west of Lookout Park.
Harry Rabin is a Field Consultant with Heal the Ocean and inspected the boat, the location and the risks earlier this week. Then with a county policy in place and a posting from the Sheriff’s Department he had the authority to remove it.
Rabin says, “the owner was given ample warning and this is at least his third offense so this needs to be stopped. This environmental terrorism in its own manner for the sake of profit.”
Heal the Ocean and Marborg have worked together on boat removals in the past, mainly during winter storms.
The owner of this vessel was on site and had tools out to retrieve parts but it was too late. The timeline was set by the tides.
Marborg had to use a ramp down the beach from the boat crash and bring heavy equipment and a rolloff to the location.
“Marborg is well on top of this. Brian Borgatello and his sons who are operating the excavator. They know what they are doing and this is not easy and the tide would not go low enough to let us get to the boat without moving it,” said Rabin.
The work was done to get the largest pieces in the rolloff dumpster without anything leaking out. Had it broken up on the concrete wall, it would have been a higher risk. Rabin said, “we don’t know what septic is on there, it is an inboard engine, it is going to pollute the ocean no matter what you do.”
A cleanup crew picked up the remaining pieces by hand and raked the beach so it was safe for the public and the environment before they left.
The owner did not comment on camera but said he tried to save the vessel once he heard it was drifting but that effort failed.
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