Habitat Type: Other
Vessel Position: On-land
Vessel Intact: Debris field
Vessel Secured: Secured
Vessel Name: Rainbow's En
Vessel Type: Recreational
Hull Type: Fiberglass
Vessel Size: 26 to 40 ft
Hull Color: White
Make and Model: 1967 34' Isalnder
Additional Information: At approximately 17:15, Channel Watch overheard a report from a good samaritan vessel reporting a vessel aground in the middle of the backside of Anacapa Island within the Channel Islands National Park and National Marine Sanctuary. Channel Watch immediately mobilized a response from Ventura Harbor with a fast response boat equipped with all recovery equipment necessary for the job. Shortly after, the Coast Guard also requested our response. Upon arrival, captains found a demasted sailboat hard aground on rocks where the Coast Guard small boat could not get to. Captains were able to navigate through the shallow waters, kelp field, and lobster traps and get close enough to where the vessel’s operator was able to board our vessel from a small rock peninsula. While transporting the operator, Mr. Stone, to the Coast Guard vessel, we had a discussion with him, where he advised he was trying to sail to Hawaii, had no insurance on the vessel, and did not have the financial means to take responsibility for the recovery. He advised he’d talk to his bank the following day. In the meantime, Channel Watch was talking with NPS Chief Ranger to see if an agency would be willing to take responsibility. We remained on scene, readily available, ultimately Chief Ranger responded that they would be unable to take financial responsibility for the response, and Captains returned to base. Captains volunteered 2.17 hours to the response. The following day, and the days after, Channel Watch attempted to gain contact with the operator, and no phone calls or voicemails were returned. It appears as if our office number may have been blocked on his phone. Later it was revealed by a local marina manager that the operator and his vessel had been squatting in their marina since he purchased the vessel in December. The marina realized and kicked him out a few days prior to the incident. No recovery effort was ever made. While the vessel broke up in pieces, the keel, engine, and mast are likely still there.
Accessibility: Challenging
Reported on Behalf Of: Organization