BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS

A 65-foot luxury yacht was saved from sinking to the bottom of the harbor

Friday afternoon after three feet of water had flooded the vessel. No one

was injured.

Named the Ocean Alexander, the yacht was docked near Linda Isle in the

Balboa Marina. A maintenance worker noticed the vessel was taking on

water shortly after 12:15 p.m. One boat from the Orange County Sheriff’s

Department Harbor Patrol responded but was unable to pump the water out

of yacht. A second patrol boat was called to the scene and both units

pumped out about 300 gallons of water. It took rescue crews an hour to

save the vessel.

The yacht is owned by Orange Coast Yachts. No one was available for

comment late Friday.

Authorities said the problem was caused by the boat’s sea strainer, a

component that allows sea water to cool the engine. The top of the

strainer reportedly came loose and let in a large amount of water.

“It doesn’t take long for water to build up,” said Harbor Patrol Sgt. Ron

Peoples. “It’s about 15 to 16 feet deep out there. If it had kept going

down, the boat would have been submerged.”