Often times when the call comes in to raise a boat after it sinks in its slip, two things are pretty common. One, Vessel Assist San Diego’s crew are usually on scene and working within an hour or two of mobilizing. Two, the boat is usually less than 40 feet long. Continue reading →
Vessel Assist San Diego specializes in raising boats after they sink. Weather the boat is in a slip or in 400’ of water Vessel Assist San Diego can raise it. Most boats that sink in slips are under 40’. The Cathy Ann was a steel commercial fishing vessel 80’ long and weighed over 150 tons with the cement ballast added inside the hull to stabilize her for the rough Pacific Ocean. Vessel Assist San Diego was given the task of raising the monster vessel from 50’ of water. The steel vessel offered many challenges. One, the sheer weight and steel hull with cement inside offered zero buoyancy. Two, the vessel was resting on a steep slope bottom leaving only the roof out of the water and the only accessible hatch 7’ under water on the lowest tides. Three the salvage had to be done on a negative tide making the start date of the job New Year’s Day. Continue reading →
The first major winter storm sinks several boats while flooding local streets. It was reported that over 8 inches of rain fell in areas of San Diego flooding several roads and business. Vessel Assist San Diego responded to almost a dozen sinking or sunken boats. “Boaters really need to respect the volume 8 inches of rain and the effect it has on a boat.” Robert Butler, President of Vessel Assist San Diego, Says “Boaters need to prepare for storms with their boats.” Continue reading →
Salvaging a sunken vessel in the open ocean is extremely challenging. A vessel sunk in the surf line even more difficult; salvaging a cement vessel in breaking surf makes for one of the toughest salvage situations. When the 32’ Ferro Cement Vessel grounded on the beach in Huntington Beach Vessel Assist Long Beach made a valiant effort to pull the stricken vessel into deep water. Continue reading →
As the busy Sunday for Vessel Assist San Diego was winding down, Captain Reggie Curry was tying the Vessel Assist Boat “San Diego” to the Vessel Assist San Diego Headquarters Pier, when he heard the call come in for a helicopter that had just crashed. As he got underway he located the crash site just a couple hundred yards from the pier. San Diego Harbor Police arrived on scene just seconds before Captain Reggie. Continue reading →
Thousands of fish suddenly died and are floated to the surface in Puerto Salinas. Just 40 miles south of San Diego Harbor a tragic finding of literally thousands of fish. Mackerel, Halibut, Sardines, Spotted Bass, and White Sea Bass were all found floating and rotting in the little harbor. There are no answers to why this happened. Sources in the harbor reported catching mackerel the night before and storing them in their boats bait tank for a future fishing trip. Continue reading →
Over the last two years Vessel Assist Has added a new boat to the fleet each year. In 2008 Vessel Assist Chula Vista was built. The new 28′ rigid hull inflatable capable of 45 knots was thrown into action as the Primary Rescue 21 test vessel. Used only part time as a tow boat Vessel Assist Chula Vista performed as a backup vessel during the busy season while not running all over the ocean testing. Vessel Assist Chula Vista has a full complement of electronics with a redundant back up. The primary system is the Garmin 4212 and 5212 units with Duo Depth and radar. Continue reading →
Vessel Assist San Diego has stepped up to the plate at this year’s “Relay for Life” in San Marcos California. Relay teams must stay out on the track for the entire 24 hour event to raise money for the fight against Cancer. Robert has taken the challenge one step further by attempting to walk the entire time solo. He has also Dedicated 10% of gross revenues from Vessel Assist San Diego during the event. Continue reading →
What turned out to be the beginning of a fun filled year of boating turned into a nightmare for one boat owner on Friday. Just days after a new motor was installed and the boat launched and placed in a slip for use in San Diego Bay, The boat suddenly and with no obvious reason sank in its slip. The owner had driven the boat the day before on a shakedown cruise then tied it up in its new slip at the Chula Vista Marina. Reports were that boat was floating at 5 am that morning and sank around 9 am. Vessel Assist San Diego arrived with a salvage team of Captains Rob Butler, Tony Olson, and Travis Basom. Continue reading →
Vessel Assist San Diego Pulls Big Boats off each other During Tsunami Waves.
Too many movies show a towering 1000 foot tsunami wave hitting big cities, giving us a false impression of what a tsunami even 2-3 feet can do. The reality is even a 2 to 3 foot tidal wave can wreak havoc on marinas, boats and low lying shoreline. There was very little damage done to the Big commercial boats in Americas cup harbor but the pier they were attached to was destroyed. It was truly amazing to see the power this tsunami as the waves sucked the water out of the bay, during low tide, slamming the deep draft boats on the bottom, as the waves rushed back in, it push the boats under the pier breaking the pier apart. Continue reading →