Beached Boats

Derelict Boat Task Force

 HTO’s Statistics of Boats That Have Crashed on SB Beaches

April 21, 2023

On During the fall and winter of 2022-2023, Heal the Ocean took a major role in handling the problem of derelict boats adrift along the south Santa Barbara county coastline, some of them crashing onto the beaches to create significant hazards of pollutants and debris. HTO oversaw all clean-ups and HTO Program Director Harry Rabin physically removed polluting items from crashed wrecks himself. Rabin rallied the man-power and ensured toxic materials were discarded from the wreckage of six vessels. Thanks to the prompt action of Harry, with the assistance of Brian Borgatello from MarBorg Industries, wreckages that may have otherwise still been on the beach have been removed with funding from HTO, and help from the City of Santa Barbara and MarBorg Industries.

HTO has compiled a list of the following incidents, including: 1) Survey/Access, 2) Removal of toxic materials and proper disposal, 3) Excavation and removal of vessels and their trails of debris, some up to 2 miles in either direction of beached vessels. The list does not include removal after a boat has sunk or been buried. One such vessel, the Allure, is still partially buried off Sandyland Cove.

Although we cannot determine the true cost of the damage caused to the environment, it is an inevitable outcome resulting from preventable incidents such as boat wrecks, which is often overlooked and not accounted for. 

We thank HTO donors whose generosity makes this work possible. We also thank Andrew Velikanje, whose Earthcomb team worked tirelessly to remove boat debris scattered along our beaches. 

Lunacy of Luna Sea - Wreck Removed from Beach

February 16, 2023

On Sunday 2/5, while beach goers played on Butterfly Beach, Heal the Ocean’s Harry Rabin and Andrew Velikanje of Earthcomb were hard at work to remove the Luna Sea boat wreck that was littering and polluting the beach.

During the January storm, the Luna Sea broke anchor and washed ashore. Toxins were removed by the owner of the vessel, and the fuel onboard was removed by HTO’s Harry Rabin.  Andrew V. of Earthcomb commandeered helpers, as well as the Luna Sea boat owner, in removing the wreck.

Due to high tides, HTO was not able to remove the boat wreck until almost a month later. The low tide on February 5 allowed HTO and Earthcomb workers to access the boat for removal.

Too Many Boats Breaking Anchor

January 31, 2023

The year had barely started when 7 boats broke anchor and washed ashore – dumping pollutants, diesel, oil, sewage waste, and sharp, dangerous objects onto our beaches.

HTO documented each incident at the request of the Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol and U.S Coast Guard. Field Director Harry Rabin recorded these boat crashes by drone, and is once again firing up our Boat Task Force, a meeting of City, County, and local officials for the purpose of coming up with a solution to this recurring problem. HTO thanks SB Waterfront Department for agreeing to take 18 loose, derelict, uninsured, unattended, and/or unnavigable boats into the Santa Barbara harbor. These boats were inadequately anchored in “Fool’s Anchorage,” just off East Beach.  

Harry Rabin is now working with MarBorg Industries and Andrew Velikanje of Earthcomb to get these tangled vessels removed. One of the wreckages is half buried in sand and another is stranded at high tide above the rocks. Heal the Ocean is purchasing new equipment to reach these areas. 

They include:

1. The sailboat at Butterfly Beach is now being meticulously removed manually with the help of the boat’s owner and Andrew Velikanje.

2. The second wreck is a twin diesel boat with 100 gallons of fuel aboard.

3. The third boat wreckage, another sailboat, is awaiting cleanup on East Beach below the cemetery. 

4. The most troublesome case is the sunken boat at Sandyland. Harry Rabin called and called for help to stop this vessel as it drifted down the coast. It is now spread over Sandyland and Padaro, with pieces in Carpinteria Marsh. HTO is monitoring the removal of this mess.

Ultimately, Heal the Ocean seeks to see tight regulations on all boats at “Fools Anchorage” – if not total removal altogether. 

Three More Boats Ashore Converge With Santa Barbara Homeless Camps

November 10, 2022

This week, 3 more boats broke free of their moorings off East Beach and landed at various places on our coastline, including the East Beach Bathhouse and below “Graveyards,” near Butterfly Beach.

Boat #1 was fortunately intercepted by the Santa Barbara harbor patrol before hitting the shore. This prevented the alterative and familiar scenario of breaking apart along the shoreline and contributing fuel, oil and numerous toxic chemicals on the beach. Boat #2 washed ashore near the East Beach Bathhouse, but was towed back out to sea to be properly secured.

Boat #3 (pictured above) washed ashore during Tuesday’s storm and ran aground below the Santa Barbara cemetery 50 feet inside the Santa Barbara County line. Carson Chevitz, Owner of TowBoatUS Ventura, is working to get the boat off the beach, but as of this writing, the vessel is still there – and there isn’t much time before it starts to tear apart in the surf.

Heal the Ocean is keeping a close watch on the situation

Less than 30 yards away from where this last vessel washed ashore, there were six encampments occupied by approximately five individuals experiencing homelessness. Four of the encampments were in disarray due to the heavy rain and hightide. HTO Field Director Harry Rabin noted that the camps were situated beneath a steep cliff with boulders above. More rain could have caused these boulders to come loose, lethal to any person below. In interviews with the campers, Rabin learned that three out of the five people had contacted City Net for housing options, but that they have been awaiting help for months.

Heal the Ocean joins the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department in petitioning the County to post a “No Camping” sign in this area. This posting would provide law enforcement with a stronger handle to combat the beach-camping problem, and would protect people at the same time.

Heal the Ocean continues to monitor the Wrecked/Derelict boat problem, and is leading a stakeholder group composed of city and county officials, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Santa Barbara harbor department, and others, to put an end to the constant trashing of our beaches with improperly anchored and unattended vessels. The cost of their removal after hitting the beach is high.

Another Derelict Boat… Not even a week later

September 30, 2022

On September 10th, the extreme hightide and surf washed an anchored sailboat ashore onto East Beach. A week later on September 19th, another boat washed up on the same beach and Harry Rabin, HTO Field Advisor, was the first one on the scene. Harry was on the beach at dawn, removing pollutants from the boat, calling authorities for permission to get the boat off the beach. (He tracked down the owner in Italy). The City of Santa Barbara finally responded to HTO’s calls for assistance, and ended up paying the fee for disposal by MarBorg Industries. The cost of the cleanup exceeded almost $20,000, and the boat owner could have avoided this problem by insuring the boat for $102 a year. 

Heal the Ocean is here, first and foremost, to protect our Oceans and the safety and welfare of our community. Boats washing ashore has been a consistent problem, therefore HTO is working on a program to prevent derelict boats from anchoring in front of our beaches. 

HTO asks all boat owners to be responsible. If you’re negligent, your boat will get eaten! 

If you own a boat please have the following:

1. Vessel Registration

2. Boaters Insurance

3. Operational vessel

THE BOAT IS OFF THE BEACH!

September 16, 2022

During the early morning hours of this past Saturday, the extreme high tide and surf pushed an anchored sailboat onto East Beach, near the foot of the Laguna Creek Channel. While beach-goers escaping the heat looked on at this disaster, Heal the Ocean Field Advisor Harry Rabin began to work on the problem.

Early Sunday morning Harry was there, working by himself, removing toxic polluting items and relocating them above the tideline. As he worked, he called for help from various agencies including Harbor Patrol, Coast Guard, Patriot Environmental Services, Towboat US, and more to recruit help and develop a plan of action. Additionally, he located the vessel’s owner and had them remove 40 gallons of diesel fuel before demolition the following morning. The highest concern was further toxins such as fuel and oil entering the ocean.

The last step required owner permission in addition to all appropriate agencies involved, before Heal the Ocean would be allowed to remove the vessel. This was achieved by 5pm on Sunday, and the call to Brian Borgatello, President of MarBorg Industries, was made. An agreement was made for the wreck to be removed from the beach expeditiously the following morning. Heal the Ocean guaranteed payment for the operation.

At 5 a.m. today, Monday, Brian was there on the site with his crew. So was Harry. Everybody went to work.

By the time everyone in Santa Barbara was waking up for their morning coffee, the boat wreck was GONE, and the beach was raked and clean. Harry noted that “no boat debris, nor even a single drop of fuel, oil, coolant, or other liquid based toxins made it into the sea during the entire operation.”

Heal the Ocean has initiated a “Boat Wreck” Stakeholder group of City and Council officials, waterfront officers, Coast Guard and other oceanic agents, and we will be meeting again soon to work on a way to prevent these boat groundings from happening.

We thank Mayor Randy Rowse, Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon, City Administrator Rebecca Bjork, the Harbor Patrol office, Coast Guard and others for responding to our calls for help Sunday morning.