65 Foot Yacht Sinks

By Debbie Williams Reporter

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Published: Thu, August 02, 2007 - 3:13 pm
Last Updated: Friday, August 03, 2007 - 2:56 pm

Debbie Williams

A multi-million dollar pleasure boat is on the bottom of the gulf, its captain is jailed and marine police have a dilemma on their hands.

It happened in Perdido Pass and it has quickly become the newest “must-see” attraction for tourist.

Visiting from Franklin, Tennessee, Sonny and Sarah Duncan came to Alabama Point for the usual reasons. "Just down here to see the sunrise, pickup a few shells just to walk." But something else caught Sonny’s eye. "When we looked out and saw the boat, we just thought it was waves at first because sometimes it dips below but it stayed that way."

The boat is the “Tarbaby”, a 65 foot Weaver sport fishing yacht, worth between three and four million dollars.

"I'm really glad it's not mine." Rob Allman noticed it too. "It's just nothing but the bridge sticking up and I saw police boats and all and I said lets go down and see what's going on."

Sgt. Jody Kelley with the Alabama Marine Police answered the call. "Got a call boater in distress in the middle of Perdido Pass found this vessel had hit the rocks and sank just inside the pass."

The captain and deckhand were not hurt but the captain, Cooper James, was arrested for boating under the influence.

"They were on the bottom in a few minutes. By the time he climbed from the top station to the bottom it was up to his knees, so as soon as it hit it ripped it out and sank pretty quick," says Kelley.

Now the problem is how to get it out of here and with storm weather off the coast, time is of the essence according to Kelley. "They're trying to anchor it down to keep it from moving around. The longer it sits there it eventually its going to start breaking up and then we are going to have a fuel problem."

Meanwhile, the Duncan’s are glad they made the trip to Orange Beach but they are even happier they don’t have to call their boss and tell them what they did to his boat. "No, if I was him I would have done left the country," laughs Sarah Duncan.

The “Tarbaby” sank in about eight feet of water, it is owned by a Dothan businessman. The yacht was on its way to Orange Beach from Panama City for this weekend’s billfish tournament.

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