Sleeping Skipper Runs Fishing Boat Aground

A 40-foot commercial fishing boat ran aground in Huntington Beach on Tuesday after its skipper fell asleep, creating a spectacle that drew dozens of beachgoers and local residents.

The Nancy D went aground near Goldenwest Street and Pacific Coast Highway around 8:30 a.m. In the early afternoon, the vessel was towed back to sea.

“Fortunately, no one was hurt and there was no pollution,” Huntington Beach Lifeguard Lt. Steve Davidson said.

Skipper Damon Brust was fast asleep when the vessel ran aground, officials said. Marine Safety Officer Matt Norton was first on the scene. He was soon joined by lifeguards, several members of the U.S. Coast Guard, firefighters and officials from the California Department of Fish and Game. Their main concerns were making sure that no one was injured and that the grounding did not trigger a fuel leak or other environmental hazard.

The owner of the Nancy D also arrived, and called out another of his ships, the 80-foot Maria T, to the rescue, officials said. The grounded craft was towed back to sea with no apparent damage.

Lifeguards had first believed the skipper had brought the ship ashore because of an emergency situation, such as taking on water. The beaching of a boat is an unusual occurrence, Davidson said, adding that he could remember it happening only once since he started working the coast in 1967, and that was when a panicked skipper with engine trouble drove his boat aground.

The cause of Tuesday’s accident appears to have been extreme fatigue, said Lt. Cmdr. Mark Steinhilber, chief of investigations in the marine safety office of the U.S. Coast Guard, based in Long Beach.

The skipper told authorities he had been working for the past 40 days without much of a break. He said he was fishing squid overnight and fell asleep at dawn, authorities said. There are no regulations to limit working hours for commercial fishing boats, Steinhilber said.

The life of a commercial fisherman involves long stints at sea and back-breaking work. Coast Guard officials said Tuesday’s accident offers a lesson for others.

“We’d like to remind fishermen that they need to try and operate with two people or anchor when they sleep,” he said.