Parking’s such a beach

Deirdre Newman

Ariveting drama unfolded on the Balboa Peninsula on Friday

afternoon as workers painstakingly tried to remove a boat that ran

aground the night before.

Clusters of bystanders watched as a 130-foot crane attempted to

haul the powerboat, named Decadence, off the beach and onto a big

rig.

David Padilla, 40, the captain and owner of the boat, was arrested

Thursday night by the harbor patrol on suspicion of operating the

boat while being intoxicated. The Hacienda Heights resident’s blood

alcohol level was about 0.16 -- twice the legal limit, said Harbor

Patrol Sgt. Ron Peoples. Newport Beach police officers arrested one

of Padilla’s passengers after he left the boat on suspicion of being

drunk in public.

The removal tested the mettle of the crane operators and trucking

crew as they tried to get the boat off the beach while inflicting as

little damage as possible. By 6:30 p.m., they had succeeded.

The 44-foot powerboat ran aground between 12th and 15th streets

Thursday night, causing a commotion among residents in the area.

“We were having dinner and looked out and saw the crowd,” said

Richard Ward, who watched Friday’s efforts from his summer rental

home. “The boat had overturned and all we could see was its black

bottom.”

Soon afterward, a tow truck dragged the boat onto the beach to

prevent it from being battered by the overnight surf.

“We didn’t take it out to sea because it was too dangerous,” said

Heather Warmington, towing operations manager for Vessel Assist, an

auto club for boats. “The rudders would have broke.”

On Friday afternoon, the crane and truck crews started the

hours-long process of hauling Decadence off the beach, which proved a

frustrating endeavor, mainly because of the boat’s large size. Other

challenges included the physical limitations of having homes so close

to the beach and dealing with low power lines on 12th Street.

On their first try, one of the crane pulleys broke because the

boat’s position on the sand caused it to resist the forward motion,

said Jesse Bolton of Heavy Transport.

Using the crane’s other pulley, workers were able to slowly slide

the boat about 250 yards toward 12th Street. Since the forward

portion of the boat was facing 12th Street, the crews had to re-rig

the crane and rotate the boat lifting it onto the truck.

But five hours after the crane arrived, Decadence remained

stranded, prolonging the soap opera for onlookers.

“It’s exciting,” said Mel Mann, a full-time Balboa Peninsula

resident. “The last time this kind of thing happened was when a

liberty boat came ashore 10 to 15 years ago.”

Removing costs could run up to $30,000, Warmington said.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221.