SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Rescuers were still searching for three people missing after a boat involved in a memorial service sank in the cold, fast-moving waters of San Francisco Bay near Alcatraz Island, authorities said Wednesday.
One person was pulled from the water but later died, and 16 people were rescued after the boat capsized Tuesday afternoon in what witnesses described as “rough seas,” San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen said.
“Apparently the vessel began to take on water and was turned over in the bay,” Crispen said at a news conference Tuesday. The vessel’s motor was still running and leaking fuel when rescuers arrived, he said.
Videos from Tuesday showed rescue boats surrounding the largely submerged vessel as debris floated nearby. A dog on board also died.
Lt. Mariano Elias, a fire department spokesperson, described it as a 50-foot (15-meter) pleasure craft with a cabin and upper deck named Volare, documented out of Stockton, California.
Search teams were using thermal imaging, tide prediction, and modeling to guide their efforts, the department said. By Tuesday evening, authorities were searching the open ocean west of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Initial callers reported what appeared to be smoke coming from the boat, but San Francisco police officers who first reached the vessel determined it was steam.
The boat departed at or near the St. Francis Yacht Club, passed under the Golden Gate Bridge twice and visited Angel Island, a state park in the bay, before the apparent return trip, according to the ship-tracking website VesselFinder. A person who answered the phone at the yacht club on Tuesday said had no information.
Alcatraz Island was once an infamously inescapable federal prison due to the chilly waters and strong currents that surround it. The island is about a mile (1.6 kilometers) off San Francisco and is now a popular tourist destination.
Elias said the vessel was about 600 yards (about 550 meters) from Alcatraz and the emergency call came in just after 3:30 p.m.
Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Ed White in Detroit; Sophie Austin in Sacramento, California; Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon; and Hallie Golden in Seattle; and photographer Noah Berger in San Francisco contributed to this story.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Pickleball Read morePickleball
Dirk van Ulden said:
CA Is Burning said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.