Digital News Report- A 36-foot sailboat that was reported missing early Thursday afternoon has shown up safely in Santa Cruz later in the evening. Steven Pruitt, the owner of the boat, and Jacob Johnson, departed from Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay on the “Joya” around 1:00 p.m. Wednesday.
“Family and friends have never known them to stay out overnight,” said Coast Guard Petty Officer Levi Read. A crab fisherman reported the Joya overdue when he noticed the slip empty on Wednesday night. The sailor’s family alerted the coast guard at 1:00pm on Thursday after they had been gone for 24 hours.
A rescue helicopter searched 28 miles of coastline for the missing vessel. When the Joya called the harbormaster in Santa Cruz to request a berth, the harbormaster immediately contacted the Coast Guard to report them found. The search was then called off.
According to U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer John Eastman, the ship would have encountered 15-knot winds on Wednesday afternoon. Despite the weather, the crew of the Joya reported that they were never in distress.