Boater missing off Santa Barbara
A man whose small boat capsized Wednesday evening off the Santa Barbara coast remained missing Thursday, authorities said.
The missing man, whose name had not been released, was one of two men aboard a catamaran when it flipped over about 7 p.m. Wednesday, said Jason Marineau, a command duty officer for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Los Angeles-Long Beach office. Authorities earlier had described the vessel as a kayak.
The other man aboard the boat swam about 200 yards to shore, making it safely, Marineau said.
The two men were described as friends by authorities, and the one who made it to shore was able to describe to officials what had happened.
The U.S. Coast Guard and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department repeatedly conducted helicopter searches on the shoreline and a 90-square-mile coastal area throughout Wednesday evening, calling off searches about 2 a.m. Thursday.
“It’s pretty difficult to see past that hour,” said Sgt. Gary Wolfe, watch commander for the Santa Barbara Police Department, which is also involved with the search.
Searches resumed later Thursday morning, Wolfe said, but were not successful. The missing man is believed to be the owner of the catamaran and an experienced boater, he said.
The reason for the capsizing was not disclosed, but winds were higher than usual in the area Wednesday evening, Marineau said, perhaps topping 39 mph.
A small craft advisory, issued when winds are between 23 to 39 mph, was in effect Thursday for the entire Southern California coastline, including the Santa Barbara area.
“The more time that goes by, the less likely he’ll be found alive,” Wolfe said.
Authorities resumed searching Thursday evening.
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