Beach takes a bow

A large cabin cruiser-type boat sank at its mooring this morning at Corona del Mar State Beach.

The 40-foot 1967 wooden-hulled boat belonged to a man who lived on the vessel, according to a friend who asked to remain anonymous.

Items from the boat floated onto the shore with friends and bystanders collecting the debris on the beach near Marguerite Avenue.

According to the man’s friend, Orange County Harbor Patrol officials called him early this morning to notify him his boat was sinking. A few minutes later he got another call informing him the boat had sunk.

It was unknown why the boat started to take on water.

“It was amazing and thrilling and terrifying to watch something go down that fast,” said Newport Beach resident Carolyn Clark, who was walking her dog along the main beach in Corona del Mar this morning when she saw a Harbor Patrol cruiser speeding through the water to aid the sinking boat.

Harbor Patrol reported taking the call at 9:04 a.m. when the agency received word the vessel was taking on water.

When patrol officers arrived at 9:15 a.m., the boat had taken on a lot of water and due to wind and the choppy conditions officers weren’t able to place pumps, according to authorities.

The water lapped over into the cabin and overwhelmed the gauge pump, Harbor Patrol officials said.

There was no one on board when it sank.

A Harbor Patrol officer jumped aboard the sinking vessel to rescue a cat, according to Harbor Patrol officials.

They had heard the cat, Fido, inside the boat and broke a window to reach the pet and save its life just in time.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com. DANIEL TEDFORD may be reached at (714) 966-4632 or at daniel.tedford@latimes.com.