Almost four weeks after a 58-foot fishing boat ran aground at North Beach, salvage crews have dismantled the ship, leaving fishermen to ask why it wasn’t saved.
The Lake Bay was carrying roughly 40 tons of squid when it washed ashore in the early hours of Aug. 21 in the Point Reyes National Seashore. The grounding set in motion the involvement of the Coast Guard, which removed 1,400 gallons of diesel fuel before shifting into salvage mode with the help of Parker Diving Service and Willoughby Associates.
In recent days, heavy machinery has tracked back and forth across the sands, stripping and dismantling the vessel. The operation confirmed what local fishermen sensed was imminent: that salvage would mean the demolition of a ship known for its durable and top-notch build.
Andrew Kleinberg, a commercial fisherman in Bolinas, described the Lake Bay as a particularly sturdy boat—and the timing of the wreck as favorable for towing. “When it went aground, the sea state was tiny swells, about as small as it gets,” he said. “Though there was some onshore wind, it could have easily been pulled off.”
The incident reminded him of another involving a crab boat that washed up at nearby Kehoe Beach after its captain died. The situation could have been mitigated by throwing an anchor into the water to hold the vessel in place while the Coast Guard focused on recovering the body.
Instead, he said, “They let it drift up onto Kehoe Beach and then did exactly what they’re doing now: destroyed it and closed the beach. It was a tragic loss for the family, the survivors, because they could have easily sold the vessel and made some kind of profit from it. Instead, they suffered a huge loss and got nothing from insurance.”
The Lake Bay’s fate has also resurfaced painful memories for Mill Valley resident Chris Fox, who captained another 58-foot boat, the Aleutian Storm, that ran aground on Salmon Creek Beach near Bodega Bay in 2024. Mr. Fox sought help from the Coast Guard while he was still offshore, but the ship ended up drifting ashore, and the agency declined to tow it off the beach, saying its purview was pollution response and mitigation.
The Coast Guard routinely provided towing services for boats that stalled or ran aground into the 1980s, when Congress directed it to review its practices to minimize competition and interference with commercial towers. Now it is only authorized to intervene in emergencies that pose a threat to human life.
The policy can have significant consequences for boaters who find themselves stranded but not in immediate danger. Mr. Fox described how he went from being the captain of his vessel to being escorted by a sheriff to a Coast Guard station, then dropped off, shoeless, at a Motel 6.
The following morning, his phone exploded with calls from federal agencies. His insurance company ultimately covered the bulk of the claim for his boat, his legal expenses, and the salvage costs. He still lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment that was left onboard.
Though he emphasized his gratitude for Coast Guard personnel, he sees the need for an approach that respects owners’ rights. Some are advocating for a protocol that would give owners a 36-hour window to recover their ships intact. Mr. Fox emphasized the importance of making a mile-long tow line designed for these types of situations accessible as part of any protocol.
The National Park Service, which is overseeing the salvage, has closed North Beach and its parking lot, and 500 feet in all directions, through Sept. 18. Last week, the roughly 40 tons of rotting squid were removed from the vessel by workers in hazmat suits and transported away in trucks, wrote Joshua Winchell, a park spokesman.
The park has not commented on the cause of the grounding and any damages necessitating the subsequent salvage operation. The remaining parts of the ship are being collected from the beach, according to video footage broadcast by Inverness resident Richard James.