Boat Found in La Jolla

Boat+Found+in+La+Jolla

Myles Chrispeels, Staff Writer

On September 11th, a small Panga Boat was found floating astray near Ocean Beach. Coast guards found the boat later in the morning, only to discover that the boat had been abandoned. Four cans of fuel were found on the boat, and it is suspected that it was recently used to smuggle drugs. 90 minutes later and 9 miles up the coast from the first boat, a larger second boat was discovered in La Jolla, rotting in the water and reeking of gasoline. The 28-foot vessel is believed to be connected to the Panga Boat from Ocean Beach, as they carried similar cargo. Residents up at the early hour noticed the gasoline stench and reported it. 

Additionally, 400,000 grams of marijuana washed up on October 2nd. According to Officer Evan Wagley, “Several hundred pounds of marijuana were found, which isn’t a very uncommon amount to find. The boat was washed up in Point Loma near Sunset cliffs and had been abandoned. But definitely [we find] over 100 [boats] in a year.” Boats like these are not a rarity in San Diego, “sometimes we’ll go two weeks with nothing and then we’ll get 5 boats in 2 days.”

For those wondering why smugglers are bringing marijuana into California when the sale is legal, Officer Wagley said, “You have to understand that it’s not legal in most states, so when making money off drug trafficking you can sell the product to states where it isn’t legal for a much higher price.”