Bodega Bay is a special place on opening day of the recreational crabbing season, home to an abundance of some of the sweetest, most tender and flavorful meats in the sea.
Its waters are also very dangerous. On Saturday evening, one person died, another was rescued and four others disappeared after their boat capsized; On Monday, another ship capsized, leaving another person dead and another missing.
“You can get into a lot of trouble very easily and very quickly,” said Paul Kanive of the California White Shark Project, who regularly navigates the waters of Bodega Bay on the rugged Sonoma Coast while conducting research. “It’s a dynamic area of nautical challenges.
“It doesn’t take much for things to go wrong. And then there is no going back.
On Saturday, members of the Phommathep family and a friend drove to the coast from their home in the small community of Corning, north of Sacramento. A cell phone ping from their 21-foot Bayliner suggests the boat was last in the waters near Carmet Beach.
A 17-year-old boy was found dead after the incident; according to a GoFundMe campaign, his name was Johnny Phommathep Jr, an offensive and defensive lineman for his high school football team. His father, John Phommathep Sr., a military veteran and volunteer firefighter, was among the missing, according to the fundraising post.
Monday morning, one boater died and another was missing after his Boston Whaler capsized on the southern portion of South Salmon Creek Beach, off Bodega Head. The men were not Sonoma County residents; their names have not been released.
The commercial Dungeness crab fishery, a holiday staple for many West Coast families, has been delayed for the sixth year in a row. To prevent humpback whales, an endangered species, from getting tangled in vertical fishing lines, the crabs won’t be widely available until early December and perhaps not until next year.
But the recreational crab season opened Saturday.
Bodega Bay, a weathered fishing hamlet located about 70 miles north of San Francisco and 20 miles west of Santa Rosa, is popular with many Central Californians. It lies off Highway 1 on the Sonoma Coast, past oak-covered hills and sheep ranches.
No one knows exactly what caused the two boats to capsize. Mechanical problems may be the cause. But the harsh conditions of Bodega Bay demand respect from even the most experienced sailors.
Shallow rocks hide in its cerulean waters, beneath ocher sandstone cliffs.
“There are rocky outcrops that require a large distance. You can’t always know how deep it is or where to navigate,” Kanive said.
The afternoon winds become violent, blowing from the northwest. This is due to cool air from the Pacific Ocean rushing inland to replace warm air rising from land heated during the day. Wind speeds on Saturday averaged 10 to 15 miles per hour, increasing to 17 to 28 miles per hour Monday, with wind gusts reaching 40 miles per hour. Waves ranged from 10 to 12 feet, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Experienced fishermen know the safest spots, Kanive said. In rough seas, “there are many places you should not go.”
Crab fishing is often better early in the season because more of the creatures are easily accessible, Kanive said. “People want to go early because they think they’ll miss out if they wait a week or two.”
But early in the season, “fishermen aren’t necessarily well informed about weather conditions and bad things that can happen,” said commercial crabber Richard Ogg, who watched with sadness as first responders rushed out to sea Saturday from his home in Bodega Bay. .
“They don’t realize how quickly things change,” he said.
In huge waves and steep swells, pleasure boats can be rolled and tossed around like a toy. “Their boats are not able to withstand these wind and swell conditions,” Ogg said. “They are moved everywhere. In these conditions, it becomes much more difficult to maneuver the boat.
Water temperatures in the area Monday morning ranged from the low 50s to low 50s, the National Weather Service reported. It’s cold enough to cause water shock and hypothermia, making drowning much more likely.
Visitors from out of town, eager to be first in the water, may not notice the growing signs of danger.
Locals called it “Sacramento syndrome,” Ogg said. In bad weather, “we didn’t go out. But people who had come all this way wanted to take the plunge.
When the recreational crabbing season opens, people have made plans, sometimes months in advance, Kanive said. “They already have a boat installed. They are determined to leave. The weather – wind, swell, tides – is therefore not a priority. This is how tragic events like these happen.
Sometimes recreational fishing boats are overloaded with people and equipment, he said, because there is a limit of 10 crabs per person for licensed fishermen.
In case of unexpected bad weather, commercial crabber Ogg always has a backup plan for his PV vessel Karen Jeanne: sail south around the Point Reyes Peninsula, then seek shelter in Drakes Bay.
Before embarking from Bodega Bay, he checks about seven different weather sites. If they don’t agree, he waits. It has an onboard computer, as well as a high-speed satellite Internet connection, to monitor the weather while at sea.
“If there’s a feeling that says, ‘Don’t go,’ I’m not going,” he said.
“If you don’t go this time, you will still have the opportunity to go again,” he said. “But if you make a mistake, you may never return home.”
