2 Rescued After Boat Breaks Up Off Catalina

Two men were rescued early Monday after their 65-foot sport fishing boat struck a submerged rock off the west coast of Santa Catalina Island. The boat was destroyed in minutes by waves pounding it against a rocky shore, but the two crew members were able to swim to safety, escaping with slight injuries.

Michael Bowen, the 37-year-old Bellflower resident who was the captain of the Queen of the Sea, and mate Donald Gish, 40, of Torrance, returned to the 22nd Street Landing in San Pedro in the afternoon, shaken by the experience.

“I had the scare of my life,” Bowen said in a dockside interview.

Bowen said the boat was near the western shore of the island when it struck the submerged rock about 6:42 a.m. and immediately lost all power and steering capability. The two were able to swim to an approaching Harbor Patrol boat not long after the crash.