“Sea Jay” boat hits rock near Santa Cruz Island and sinks, Coast Guard, good Samaritan and other agencies rescue all 14 people

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – The United State Coast Guard, a good Samaritan and other local agencies rescued 14 people who abandoned ship after their charter passenger vessel, the "Sea Jay," struck a rock near Santa Cruz Island early Thursday morning.

All 14 people are safe and uninjured, according to the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles – Long Beach said its command center watchstanders received the mayday call from the captain of the Sea Jay around 2:33 a.m. after they struck the rock.

The captain of the Sea Jay told the 10 passengers and three crew members to abandon the ship while he remained on the sinking boat to anchor it and deploy the life raft for the others to hold on to.

Once he anchored the Sea Jay, the captain joined the others on the life raft.

"They really saved themselves with the mayday call, deploying the life raft and they successfully got inside," said Petty Officer Rick Brahm, US Coast Guard Public Affairs Detachment Supervisor. "With that life raft, it was easy to locate them. Having the right equipment on board saved their lives."

The watchstanders issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast stating the situation and requesting help from any nearby boaters while Coast Guard rescue crews were being deployed.

Nearby, a good Samaritan aboard a vessel called the "Sea Biscuit" heard the broadcast over the radio, and rushed to the scene where they quickly began to recover the survivors.

Shortly after this, a California Department of Fish and Wildlife small boat and a Coast Guard Station Channel Islands small boat arrived to take the survivors and transport them to shore, where emergency medical services awaited their arrival, according to the Coast Guard.

The Sea Jay is now fully submerged, and the Coast Guard said a sheen has been reported in the area of the sunken boat, which had a total capacity of 220 gallons of diesel in its fuel tanks. There have been no reports of damage to wildlife so far.

"The Coast Guard continues working closely with partner agencies to respond to the pollution and investigate the cause behind the grounding and sinking," noted the press release.

Brahm said diesel fuel disperses rather quickly in the waves, and is very different from crude oil spills.

"This was a dynamic case that resulted in lives saved due to the quick actions of a good Samaritan, our Coast Guard watchstanders, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife," said Capt. Ryan Manning, Commander of Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles – Long Beach. "Thankfully, we were able to quickly respond to ensure all persons made it home safely." 

As for the clean up of the boat, Brahm said people are currently assessing the wreckage.

In December of 2022, a 60 foot squid vessel called the Speranza Marie ran ashore in a similar area to this incident near Santa Cruz Island.

The Coast Guard revealed that in this previous case, the captain had fallen asleep – but luckily no one was injured and all six people were rescued.