A family trip to scatter the ashes of a loved one ended in tragedy after a three-level cabin cruiser carrying 20 people capsized and sank in San Francisco Bay, leaving one person dead, three others missing, and rescuers haunted by the sight of passengers trapped behind the boat’s windows.
ABC7 reporter Luz Pena said 16 people were rescued after the vessel, named Volare, took on water near Alcatraz, listed heavily, and rolled over in cold, choppy conditions. Commercial fishermen Mike Montoya and Justin Marceline were among the first people to reach the scene, pulling eight or nine survivors from the water before emergency crews arrived.
The men described passengers jumping into the bay, clinging to the side of the sinking boat, and calling for help while debris and life jackets floated around them. Inside the cabin, other people could be seen striking the glass as water rose around them.
“It was a scene from the Titanic in real life,” Marceline told Pena.
Fishermen Race Toward What Looked Like Smoke
Montoya and Marceline had not originally planned to be on the water that day, but made a last-minute decision to fish for halibut.
From roughly two miles away, they noticed what appeared to be smoke or steam rising near the vessel and accelerated toward it.
When they arrived, the Volare was already about halfway underwater.
Marceline said passengers standing in the second-deck galley initially had water around their knees, but within about a minute it had climbed to their shoulders.
The speed of the sinking gave everyone little time to understand what was happening, locate life jackets, or find a safe route out.
Some people jumped into the freezing bay, while others held onto the boat or anything floating nearby. Montoya said the amount of wreckage in the water made it difficult to distinguish people from loose objects.
“There was so much debris on the water and people and stuff everywhere,” he said.
He maneuvered the fishing boat carefully through the scene, moving in to collect one survivor before backing away and looking for the next person within reach.
That approach required both speed and restraint. Moving too slowly could cost lives, but getting too close to the sinking vessel or striking someone hidden among the debris could have made the disaster worse.
One Woman Begged Not to Die
Marceline recalled pulling a woman from the water who was not wearing a life jacket and was struggling to remain above the surface.
He grabbed her by the arm and tried to reassure her while bringing her onto the fishing boat.
The woman looked up at him with bright blue eyes and asked for help.
“You look like my mama,” Marceline remembered telling her. “I’m not going to let you go. I promise you.”
She told him that she did not want to die, and he continued promising that he would hold on.
The encounter remained fixed in his mind because of the woman’s fear and the personal connection he felt in that moment.
Another rescuer described holding survivors by the shoulders, telling them to maintain eye contact and trust that they would not be dropped back into the water.
Those small words of reassurance may have mattered almost as much as the physical rescue. People suffering from cold-water shock, panic, or exhaustion can lose the ability to act clearly, making calm direction essential.
Passengers Were Trapped Behind the Windows
The most disturbing part of the fishermen’s account involved the people still inside the boat.
Marceline said only one window appeared to be open as the vessel sank, while passengers could be seen banging on the glass and attempting to escape.
Many of those trapped appeared to be older adults who lacked the strength to break through the windows.
Montoya and Marceline threw lead fishing weights toward survivors near the boat and urged them to smash or kick the glass.
One man took a weight but looked back at them as though he had no strength left.
“He just looked at us like, ‘I’m exhausted. I can’t do anything,’” Montoya said.
Marceline described the feeling as helpless because the fishermen could see people trapped only a short distance away but could not reach them through the rapidly submerging vessel.
The image of people pounding on windows has become the defining detail of the disaster because it shows how quickly a boat can turn into a sealed enclosure once it begins rolling.
It also raises difficult questions about emergency exits, window strength, passenger movement, and whether everyone onboard knew how to escape from below deck.
Sixteen Rescued, but One Man Died
Pena reported that 16 of the 20 people onboard were rescued.
Clifford Boisa died shortly after being pulled from the water, according to his brother, Ralph Boisa. Clifford’s dog also died.
The three people reported missing were Ralph’s sister Carol, Clifford’s wife Jackie, and a friend of Ralph’s late daughter.
The family and several close friends had gone onto the bay to honor Ralph’s younger daughter, who died at age 33 in 2016 and had loved surfing.
Ralph, who lives in Washington, said he had been unable to attend the trip.
“We’ve gone through a lot of tragedy over the years,” he said, noting that he had also lost another daughter in 1995.
The fact that the group had gathered for a memorial made the sinking especially painful. A trip intended to celebrate one life instead created another loss and left several families waiting for answers.
Clifford, who was approaching his 80th birthday, had reportedly served as a volunteer sheriff’s deputy for more than a decade and lived on a small prune orchard in Sutter County.
Ralph described him as happy and jovial, saying the family was deeply broken by his death.
Coast Guard Suspends the Search
The U.S. Coast Guard searched more than 814 square miles before suspending operations late Wednesday pending further developments.
Captain Jared S. Toczko said suspending a search is among the most difficult decisions Coast Guard crews face and offered condolences to everyone involved.
Before the suspension, Toczko said he would not rule out the possibility that those missing could still be alive, though some may have remained trapped inside the vessel.
Crews knew the general location where the Volare sank but had not yet determined its exact depth.
San Francisco Police Commander Brien Hoo said officials would consider using divers or an underwater drone once the boat was located more precisely and conditions could be assessed.
If the vessel rests deeper than about 120 feet, sending divers could become extremely difficult.
The suspension of a search does not end the investigation or recovery work, but it marks a painful shift from an active rescue mission toward a process with fewer hopeful outcomes.
Rough Water and Cold Shock Complicated the Rescue
Witnesses described rough seas and swells reaching approximately five feet, although weather conditions had not triggered a small craft advisory.
San Francisco Fire Department Chief Dean Crispen said the vessel may have been struck by rough water, while investigators had not yet determined exactly why it took on water and rolled.
The Volare was a 49-foot cabin cruiser registered in Stockton and had traveled from a San Francisco marina, passed beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, and visited Angel Island before sinking near Alcatraz on the return trip.
Experienced sailor Kirk Miller suggested that passengers standing unevenly on one side could have reduced the vessel’s stability as it rocked in the waves.
“As it leans over, the stability would decrease,” Miller explained, while noting that there had been no extraordinary wind gust or single massive wave.
That remains only one possible explanation, and a full investigation will be needed before responsibility or cause can be established.
The water itself also created an immediate threat.
Sudden immersion in water colder than 60 degrees can cause cold-water shock, affecting breathing, strength, coordination, and the ability to grip objects or break a window within minutes.
That may help explain why some passengers could not force their way out even when rescuers handed them heavy objects.
Questions Remain About How the Vessel Sank
The Coast Guard said there were life jackets onboard, and some survivors were wearing them when rescued.
Others, including the woman Marceline pulled from the bay, were not.
Initial callers believed smoke was coming from the boat, but responding San Francisco police officers later described it as steam.
The vessel’s owners were identified as John and Miriam Boisa of Stockton. Ralph said John was an experienced boater and former U.S. Navy service member who had taken relatives onto the bay many times.
Those details make it even more important not to rush toward a simple explanation. Experienced boaters can still encounter mechanical failures, sudden flooding, unstable passenger movement, or a sequence of smaller problems that becomes impossible to control.
Investigators will likely examine the boat’s condition, loading, passenger distribution, hull integrity, pumps, windows, escape routes, and the timing of the capsize.
The surviving passengers and first responders may also help reconstruct how rapidly the water entered and why so many people appeared unable to leave the cabin.
Rescuers Left With Images They Cannot Forget
Montoya and Marceline saved several lives before professional crews arrived, but both men focused on the people they could not reach.
Their decision to move toward what looked like smoke placed them in the center of a disaster with no time to prepare.
They navigated through wreckage, pulled exhausted strangers from freezing water, and tried to break windows while the boat disappeared beneath the surface.
Their actions show the enormous difference ordinary people can make during the first minutes of an emergency, before organized rescue teams have time to arrive.
They also reveal the emotional cost carried by those who survive such scenes.
Marceline said the sight of passengers pounding on the glass would probably remain with him forever.
For the families of the dead and missing, the waiting and grief continue. For the fishermen who answered the calls for help, the disaster will likely remain frozen in a series of images: a woman begging not to die, debris covering the bay, and people behind windows that would not break as the vessel slipped beneath the water.
A former park ranger and wildlife conservationist, Lisa’s passion for survival started with her deep connection to nature. Raised on a small farm in northern Wisconsin, she learned how to grow her own food, raise livestock, and live off the land. Lisa is our dedicated Second Amendment news writer and also focuses on homesteading, natural remedies, and survival strategies. Lisa aims to help others live more sustainably and prepare for the unexpected.
