Volare Wreckage Found 120 Feet Deep Near Alcatraz as 2 Passengers Remain Missing

Q: How could a single wave capsize a 49-foot cabin cruiser, and what made it so vulnerable?

A single wave can capsize a 49-foot cabin cruiser if it hits at the wrong angle and the boat’s stability is already reduced. That appears to be the key issue in the Volare sinking: witnesses reported rough Bay conditions, the boat took on water after being hit by a wave, began listing, then rolled over quickly. Size alone does not make a boat immune. A cabin cruiser is not a commercial ferry; its stability depends on weight, balance, speed and how it meets the sea. If a steep wave strikes the boat broadside, or if the operator cannot keep the bow angled safely into the swell, the roll can become too great to recover from. Once water comes aboard or into the engine space, stability can deteriorate very fast. The Volare may have been especially vulnerable because it was carrying 20 people on a three-level vessel in choppy San Francisco Bay waters near Alcatraz, where wind, tide and current can combine to create short, steep waves. Marine experts say capsizing a boat of this size is unusual, which points to a combination of factors rather than the wave alone. The likely vulnerabilities investigators will examine are passenger load, where people were positioned, whether weight was concentrated high up, whether the boat was struck beam-on, and whether any mechanical or seaworthiness issue made recovery impossible after the initial hit. In short, one wave can be enough when a boat is near its stability limits and then starts taking on water.

3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 18

San Francisco police located the 49-foot Volare on the floor of San Francisco Bay, using boat-mounted sonar to find the overturned cabin cruiser near where it capsized Tuesday.
Sonar images showed the wreckage about 120 feet down in rocky terrain with strong currents, and a remotely operated vehicle is now assessing whether the boat can be safely recovered.
Two deaths have been confirmed — Clifford Joseph Boisa, 79, and Tondra Madruga, 58 — while two relatives, Jackie Boisa and Carol Boisa, were still missing as local recovery efforts continued.
The Coast Guard had already suspended its active search after covering more than 950 square nautical miles, but officials said some missing victims could still be inside the wreckage.
Investigators say raising the vessel may be critical to determining why the boat, carrying about 20 family members for an ash-scattering memorial, rolled over after reportedly being struck by a large wave.