Boat destroyed after coming aground at Laguna’s Victoria Beach

A boat that made landfall at Victoria Beach in Laguna Beach on Thursday night was rendered not fit to sail after a rocky end to its voyage, authorities said.

Public safety officials responded to a call at 8:10 p.m. for a vessel that had come aground at the northern end of Victoria Beach.

Waves pound the shoreline along Victoria Beach and Lagunita seawall near where a boat ran aground the night before, rendering it unseaworthy.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

“We were in unified command with the police department and the fire department, just assuring that there was nobody on board,” Marine Safety Captain Kai Bond said. “After that, we decided to close the beach because the vessel went from a vessel that was potentially seaworthy to one that wasn’t. … It was on the rocks, so every wave that moved the boat damaged the boat more.”

Additional agencies that responded to the incident included the Coast Guard, the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and a tow boat service.

Victoria Beach remained closed Friday, as crews worked to clean up the debris from the compromised vessel.

Lifeguards walk along the Lagunita seawall near the site where a boat crashed into rocks. No one was on the vessel at the time of the incident, officials said.

(Don Leach/Los Angeles Times)

Bond ruled out the possibility of maritime smuggling activity. Officials have been in contact with the owner of the boat, a 30-foot cabin cruiser. It was unoccupied upon its arrival. Authorities searching the boat found a kayak and a surfboard on board, Bond said.

“This is an unoccupied boat that was detached from its anchor some time ago,” Bond said. “We’re still trying to identify which location it came from exactly. The name on the back had it out of Belmont Shore, which is in Long Beach, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it came out of Long Beach. Boats can go anywhere.”