by Rizwan hijazi$8 million yacht capsizes near annapolis
Over the weekend, a superyacht valued at around $8 million capsized in the Chesapeake Bay close to Washington, D.C., resulting in the dramatic rescue of five passengers who had to jump overboard.
Just after 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, the 122-foot Sanlorenzo motor yacht “Lovebug” unexpectedly went aground at the entrance of the West River, approximately half a mile offshore. According to Boat International, the Lovebug, which can be rented for $125,000 a week at the adjacent Annapolis Yacht Club, last sold for $7,995,000 in 2021. In addition to housing seven staff members and eleven guests, the ship has a sundeck with a bar and a small swimming pool.
The Lovebug may be seen half buried in the water on its starboard side in aerial drone footage. The U.S. Coast Guard raced to the site as the boat reportedly sank in a matter of minutes.
Tour Boat Annapolis employee Trevor Hardman told CBS News Baltimore that he witnessed the Lovebug begin to sink while he was aboard a friend’s boat in the area.
“As we tried to figure out what part of the boat we were looking at, we realized it slowly started to list and lean over to one side,” Hardman remembered. “I would say within four to five minutes the boat was consumed and the captain had made the determination that they needed to abandon ship.”
“They did have to abandon ship and they did go in the water off the stern of the boat,” he said. “If everyone hadn’t maintained their composure, spoken well over the radio, and made sure that everyone was present, things could have turned out far worse. My top goal was to find out how many people were on board, how many were in the water, and who we had and didn’t have. It was collaborative.
“The local boating community came together to provide assistance, and there was no shortage of nearby boaters waiting to help,” Hardman said. “It’s something you don’t find everywhere these days,” he remarked.
The 104-foot yacht Lovebug came aground on Saturday about half a mile offshore between Curtis Point, Maryland, and Beverly Beach. The Coast Guard and its partner organizations are responding to the incident.
A kind Samaritan and a towboat successfully rescued the five people on board.
Hardman talked to the captain after everyone had been safely evacuated, but the captain likewise didn’t appear to be aware of what had happened.
“I asked, ‘Did you run aground?’ at the time. “No,” he said, “but I was going this way.” “We were absorbing water,” he clarified. “Alerts on boats that size alert you when there is water within the vessel. The sound of those high-water sirens going off was so loud that it pierced their ears.
Amazingly, no injuries were recorded. Despite complaining of head pain, one aboard passenger refused to be sent to the hospital.
To limit any gasoline spills and lessen the environmental effect, U.S. Coast Guard pollution response crews collaborated with a nearby salvage firm to erect oil boom barriers around the boat. The spacecraft will be recovered when it is thought that all of the fuel was contained.
According to Cpl. Christopher Neville of the Maryland Natural Resources Police, “the biggest thing right now is just to get the vessel salvage so that we can hopefully get some clues as to what happened.” “Once everybody was secured, it was just a matter of placing the safety protocols around the boat to keep out contaminants and trying to follow up with the captain and owner of the vessel.”