SAN DIEGO — Two men, returning from a fishing trip off the Baja California coast, were rescued from a cave near Point Loma Friday morning after their 26-foot fishing boat became trapped inside.
The two men, one in his 60s and the other a teenager, awoke and realized they had gone off course. How the catamaran navigating on autopilot ended up in the obscure cave off Point Loma Thursday night as the two occupants slept remains a mystery.
The men were able to put out a mayday call from inside the cave. Lifeguards used their rescue boat to get close to the cave, and swim to access the boat and rescue the men.
The two men are reportedly home and doing well.
While lifeguards were able to safely rescue them, rescuing the catamaran is another story.
Captain Tony Olson is with the Tow Boat U.S. San Diego and will undertake the tricky extrication operation beginning at first light Saturday morning.
“Tomorrow morning, we are going to go and attempt to re-float it. It is currently sunk in there, bouncing up and down on the rocks,” said Olson.
The catamaran was pushed back about 120 feet into the cave, and because of the narrow passage, it cannot be turned around and will have to be pulled out backwards.
The boat, however, will first have to be raised.
“We are going to attach flotation bags and it uses the lift from the water to raise the vessel,” said Olson.
Pumps will also be brought in to pump some of the water out of the boat. Dragging it out of the cave will be as complicated as the boat’s entering the cave in the first place.
Captain Olson said the team's hope is that the catamaran can be extricated safely and in one piece because it has taken on water and its condition in the long run is unclear.
