Balboa’s glass-bottom boat sinks

The famous glass-bottom boat that sat off the Balboa Fun Zone for more than a decade now lies at the bottom of the ocean after its new renegade owner tried piloting it to Northern California, officials said Monday.

U.S. Coast Guard officials estimate the Phoenix is sitting under about 800 feet of water near Malibu and won’t be brought back to the surface anytime soon. Restaurateur Rick Parker recently purchased the vessel and had planned to convert it into an eatery in Martinez ? a small northern California town outside of Oakland. Oddly, just weeks before, the Martinez City Council had rejected the proposal, but Parker said he didn’t care and was going to open the restaurant anyway.

“If the overwhelming opinion is that people want it there, it’s going to stay there, and I’ll let my lawyers deal with the details,” Parker told the Contra Costa Times in May. He was unable to be reached for comment Monday.

It’s unclear what caused the boat to sink off Malibu, although lifeguard personnel with the Los Angeles County Bay Watch said someone on board had reported a 2-by-6-foot crack in the hull of the ship.

Lifeguards got the call at around 8:20 a.m. Sunday ? just a day after Parker departed Newport Harbor ? and dispatched two rescue boats to a location near Point Dume. When they arrived, the lifeguards found Parker and friends John Jordan, of Bay Point, John Sullivan and Michael Patrick, both of Martinez, waiting on an inflatable raft watching the Phoenix keel forward into the sea. The lifeguards helped the men gather a few items and then watched helplessly as the boat went down.

“By 11 a.m., the vessel had completely sunk under water,” Inspector Ron Haralson of the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.

The boat had met all its inspection dates, although a dry-dock examination was due to be completed on June 30, U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Commander Ray Lechner said. The boat was not yet permitted to move passengers, but was allowed by law to attempt the voyage up north.

It’s extremely rare for a boat of that size to sink in the open seas, Lechner said, although he said he doubted foul play had a role in the sinking.

“I personally don’t think there was anything out of the ordinary that made this vessel sink,” he said.

The website of previous owner Fun Zone Boat Co. said it was the only Sidewheeler boat ? a steam vessel with paddle wheels on each side ? currently in commercial operation.

The Phoenix was originally built for the Wrigley family of chewing gum fame, and was later used at Avalon port in Catalina Island, where it ferried passengers back and forth to Newport Beach. In 1996, it underwent a complete restoration and was moved to the Fun Zone to ferry passengers around the Newport Harbor and was regularly chartered for weddings and parties.

Fun Zone Boat Co. employee Charlie Maas said his group recently sold the boat to Parker after the Fun Zone was acquired by the Nautical Museum.

“We were consolidating a little, and that’s the vessel we chose to move out,” he said.

After the sale, the ship stayed in its mooring for several weeks as Parker and crew attempted to prepare it for the 450-mile journey.

“Anytime you take an older vessel onto the sea, there’s always a risk,” Maas said.

In Northern California, local residents can’t stop talking about Parker’s latest adventure.

“It’s totally the talk of Martinez,” said Eva Greenhouse, who works at the Martinez Marina where Parker was planning to drop anchor.

It’s unclear what Parker is now going to do. An employee at his restaurant LaBeau’s Louisiana Kitchen said he recently sold the eatery to pursue his dreams of opening the boat restaurant.