The Chandalar is a 10-ton, 33-foot sailboat that ran aground near Stinson Beach in July 2023.
Courtesy of Chelsea Flintoft
A fundraiser is underway to help a marooned captain whose sailboat ran aground near Stinson Beach in Marin County, and the clock is ticking to remove it. The ship could face destruction if it’s left on the beach.
The Chandalar, a 33-foot sailboat weighing 10 tons, was first spotted drifting in the surf on Upton Beach, which is adjacent to Stinson Beach, on July 31. It has since lodged into the sand near the tide line. The ship landed on a peculiar section of the beach that’s both private and federally protected.
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A multi-agency effort is collaborating on next steps for the Chandalar if it can’t return to the water. Marin County Parks manages Upton Beach and is working with the Marin County Sheriff’s Office and the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, a Bay Area marine protection agency under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
A GoFundMe campaign titled “Captain Logan Has Run Aground” has been launched to help the sailboat’s captain, Logan Walker, rent a lift to transport the vessel. “The Grade All [forklift] will take the vessel out as far as it can go at low tide while it awaits the next high tide,” the campaign organizers wrote on Wednesday. “… The local authorities are threatening to disassemble the boat to get it off the beach. We are trying to buy time.”
Patrick Newman, a Bay Area resident, started the GoFundMe after noticing that the situation wasn’t making any progress. He said Bob Weir from the Grateful Dead has donated to the campaign, which would pay for Walker’s transportation home to Washington if the money cannot be applied to the boat’s rescue.
“I’m trying to assist him with information to help him make a good decision but I think his decision is to try and save it and get it out there,” Newman said. “I think it’s going to be more difficult than we thought. It’s more practical if we use a heavy duty escalator or crane. But he’s not going to get that. And all the Grade Alls are booked out until next week and I told him, you might not last.”
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The Point Reyes Light first reported the grounded sailboat and wrote that the boat’s captain was en route to Seattle when he washed ashore. The captain was reportedly napping while sailing using autopilot when the boat drifted toward the beach. Walker told the Light he was stirred awake by the sound of yelling. “I looked outside and saw the beach and just thought, ‘Oh s—t,’” he told the Light.
There have been numerous attempts to assist the Chandalar by digging into the sand to allow the tide to bring it back out to sea, but those efforts have failed.
Courtesy of Thomas Flintoft
Walker, a union carpenter, attempted to anchor the boat before running aground, but the anchor chain failed and detached from the boat.
Locals and beachgoers have attempted to assist by digging into the sand to allow the tide to bring the boat back into the water, but their efforts have failed.
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Sgt. David Chellson with the Marin County Sheriff’s Office told SFGATE the department is working directly with the owner to get his boat relaunched, but if that’s unsuccessful, it will seek “a new plan.”
“We’re giving him time to address the situation by himself and it sounds like the community is trying to help,” Chellson said. “There have been some concerns from the community, but there are no hazardous materials to worry about. It seems like this is his prized possession and we want to give him the time he needs.”