The crew eventually made their way to a nearby 60-foot fisherman boat, The Grape Escape, owned by Bob and Shirley Hansen, who were asleep when they began to hear pounding on the side of the vessel around 3:30 a.m, Mr. Hansen said in an interview. He soon threw on a pair of shorts and opened a cabin door to find five frightened men in their underwear.
The men, said Mr. Hansen, told him they were crew on the nearby diving vessel, Conception, which they had jumped from after a fire onboard grew out of control. They used an inflatable tender boat to reach Mr. and Mrs. Hansen, the only other boat anchored in the area, in Platts Harbor, north of Santa Cruz Island, he said.
The fire was too big, there was absolutely nothing we could do. You never anticipate something like this. We just felt so helpless,” he added.
Mr. and Mrs. Hansen gave clothes to the crew members, and helped dry them off. One he believed had broken his leg, evidently during the escape, and was in pain, he said. Two of the crew went back out toward the Conception to look for passengers who may have made it off the boat; they found no one, he said.
Boat ‘Engulfed in Flames’ Leaves Over 30 Missing Off Santa Cruz Island