It could be a few days before several damaged boats get hauled out of the San Diego Harbor. The strong winds tossed around hundreds of boats for several hours.
San Diego Harbor Police and the San Diego Mooring Company report 10 boats broke free of their moorings. Two of those boats sank after strong winds battered them around the harbor. One of them, a 55-foot sailboat slammed into a smaller boat, damaging its front railing and siding.
The owner of that boat, Carl Carver, was inside when he was hit. He said he didn't panic much because it's happened to him before in Florida. But it's now the inconvenience of having to spend thousands of dollars in repairs that he's worried about.
"I was going to make one more trip and go back to Florida, but now I don't know. It would be nice to find the gentlemen that owns and find out if he has insurance," said Carver.
On the other side of the Grape Street Pier, a boat slammed against the rocks. The owner, Fred Minter, wasn't onboard at the time because he was in a care facility in the East County. He was watching the news from his bed when he noticed a report on what looked like his boat. He feared the worst so he got two of his friends to bring him down to the harbor to check it out.
Minter just had a tracheotomy, and he's had a rough past six months ever since someone found him unconscious on his boat. He's been recovering in the care facility since.
Now, he has this challenge to face. His boat badly damaged is most likely beyond repair. It cost him $15,000 to buy and he has no insurance.
"I was devastated. The boat's my home. I had all my possessions on it. Once I got well, I was going to take it on a cruise and see more of the world. Hopefully, I can get some help," Minter said.
Minter doesn't have family so the daughter of one of his close friends set up at GoFundMe account to raise $4,000 to help him out.
Minter said it could be several weeks, maybe months, before he's released, and he doesn't know what will happen to his belongings once the boat is towed out by San Diego Mooring Company.
