Survivor’s Story: A survivor of the deadly Alcatraz boat disaster reveals the heartbreaking reason for the doomed trip as chilling new details emerge
The group onboard the doomed boat that capsized near Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay Tuesday was celebrating the life of a family member who died by suicide a decade ago.
Passenger Ralph Boisa said that the group had taken the cruise to spread the ashes of his adoptive daughter, Maria, who took her own life in 2016, according to the San Francisco Standard.
Maria loved surfing, so her family decided to bid her a final goodbye in the frigid waters near Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay.
Ralph Boisa’s brother, Cliff Boisa, died in the catastrophic accident while three others remain missing. Authorities suspended their search for the lost passengers at sundown Wednesday.
The three passengers that remained missing were Cliff’s wife, Jackie; Carol, a sister of the Boisa brothers; and a friend of Maria’s. The Boisa family said Wednesday that authorities had recovered a female body, according to the Standard.
The three-level pleasure boat sunk after being hit by a wave, toppling between Alcatraz island and the Golden Gate Bridge.
During a press conference Wednesday, US Coast Guard Captain Jarod Toczko explained that the vessel, identified as the Volare, became unstable following the wave strike. The boat tripped and quickly turned over before completely submerging in the water.
The two lower levels of the boat were already underwater around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday when rescuers arrived.
The vessel, owned and piloted by Cliff and Ralph Boisa’s brother, John Boisa, was carrying 20 extended family members for the celebration of life.
Cliff Boisa, 79, of Sutter County, worked as a reserve deputy for the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office from 1987 to 2011.
Officials said the boat launched somewhere near San Francisco’s St. Francis Yacht Club.
The US Coast Guard had initially classified it as a “vessel fire” with 19 people aboard when the sinking began. But as the day progressed, the San Francisco Fire Department said there was no evidence of any fire on the boat.
