Snoozing Skipper Runs Yacht Aground in Dana Point

A 46-foot yacht ran aground near the Ritz-Carlton hotel on Thursday, prompting the skipper, whom authorities said may have fallen asleep at the helm, and a group of beach-goers to struggle to free the vessel in the pounding surf.

Authorities expected the high tide to carry the boat, valued at about $150,000, back into the ocean off Salt Creek Beach early this morning.

The yacht had foundered as skipper Charles Masters, 36, of Sunset Beach and a handful of volunteers worked feverishly to manually winch the craft, foot by foot, off the beach while a crowd gathered to watch.

“It’s been pretty tough getting it out,” said Gary Devore of Monarch Beach, a surfer who stopped to offer his help to Masters. “It’s obviously an expensive boat, and I wasn’t going to stand by and not help save it.”

Lt. Richard Olson of the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol said a Ritz-Carlton security guard reported the mishap shortly after 4 a.m. He said Masters won’t be cited unless the yacht discharges diesel fuel into the ocean, which is a violation of county and state environmental laws.

“The diesel is my concern,” said Mike Rees, county beaches maintenance supervisor. “Forty or 50 gallons] doesn’t sound like a lot, but it can do some damage out here.”

Rees said Masters told him that he fell asleep at the helm on a short trip from Newport Beach to Dana Point.

“He’s pretty lucky--it could have been a lot worse,” said Rees, pointing to a large outcropping of rock jutting about 50 feet into the ocean.

“He basically fell asleep. It’s as bad as falling asleep behind the wheel of a car.”

Masters declined to comment to reporters, saying he was too busy working to save the boat.

Olson said Masters told Harbor Patrol deputies that he was provisioning the boat for a trip to Hawaii, where the Priority is registered.

Masters and the volunteers worked all day Thursday to keep the boat stable as it was broadsided by surf of three to four feet and hit by an occasional six-foot wave.

A scuba diver was used to set anchor lines offshore.

The rope was attached to a manual winch and Masters and three other men pulled hard as the surf shook the boat with each wave.

Slowly, the yacht was turned around to face the waves. Authorities said when the tide got high enough, another vessel would pull the Priority into deep waters and bring it to a boat repair yard.

Olson said it is a boat owner’s responsibility to remove a grounded vessel from the beach.