SAN DIEGO (CBS 8/CNS) - A sailboat grounded on the rocks off Sunset Cliffs Sunday, tossing one mariner into the ocean and forcing lifeguards to rescue him and three other men on the boat.
That was one of several nautical mishaps that kept rescuers busy Sunday, a lifeguard said.
A witness called 911 shortly after 11 a.m. to report that a boat was getting too close to shore near Sunset Cliffs, and that waves were pounding the side of the vessel, according to Lifeguard Lt. John Sandmeyer. The caller also erroneously said the boat was on fire.
Two lifeguards from Ocean Beach responded to the call, along with a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, a lifeguard rescue boat and a fire boat. They found a 27-foot sloop had been returning from Mission Bay to its home berth in San Diego Bay, when it went aground about 80 yards offshore, near Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Ladera Street, Sandmeyer said.
Four men, all in their 60s and 70s, were rescued unharmed, but lifeguards could not dislodge the 27-foot sloop from the rocks. At midafternoon, lifeguards were waiting for the tide to rise before attempting to pull the boat from the rocks.
At San Gabriel Place off Mission Beach, a boat captain was arrested for DUI after lifeguards saw him getting too close to shore.
In Coronado, a 40-foot boat ran aground in front of the Hotel Del shortly before 10 a.m.
The boat was anchored and the sole occupant was asleep.
Due to weather and swell conditions, it broke free and blew in to the rocks.
Coronado Police were working with the Coast Guard to determine if any legal action would be filed.