Boat runs into jetty off peninsula

Coral Wilson

When Cole Lane fell in the water minutes before his abandoned

sailboat crashed into the eastern jetty Monday morning, it wasn’t a

powerboat, but a man on a rubber tube who came to his rescue.

Larry Allen, a school teacher from Fullerton, was fishing and

floating around when he heard Lane’s loud cries for help. Residents

rushed out of their homes and called 911 for help, Allen said.

Allen was the first to arrive at the scene. He paddled over,

caught the runaway dinghy and pulled Lane out of the cold water.

Lane, who wasn’t wearing a lifejacket, had yelled and made a lot

of noise, but when he suddenly grew silent, Allen became nervous, he

said. Lane, who was wearing jeans and a hat that read “veterans,” was

cold and soaking wet, Allen said.

John Busch of Balboa Peninsula, one of the many 911 callers, said it took more than 15 minutes for the Harbor Patrol to arrive. Busch,

who watched the whole incident at about 10 a.m., called Allen the

real hero.

“Unbelievable. A guy in a rubber tube was able to get there faster

than the power boats,” he said. “No doubt, he saved that gentleman’s

life.”

Lane fell in the water between the Channel Reef homes and China

Cove.

The sailboat traveled another 600 to 700 feet with its motor

running before it hit the rocks, Busch said. Onlookers watched as the

boat headed out to sea.

The 57-year-old Lane seemed to be hoping it would miss the jetty,

Allen said.

“That might have been his house, his home, his transportation,”

Allen said. “He said something like, ‘That is all I had was that

boat.’”

Lane had been trying to pull his dinghy closer to the 35-foot boat

when the line snapped and he lost his balance, Harbor Patrol Sgt.

Kurt Vasentine said.

There was no visible damage, and the boat appeared to be

water-tight, but a full inspection is needed to determine damage to

the propeller and steering gear, he said.

The motor was still running when the Harbor Patrol arrived, so the

sailboat probably motored itself over to the rocks, Vasentine said.

The swell made it easy to get the boat off the rocks.

“The sails were already up and, I am just guessing at this point,

but he was probably just about ready to kill the motor and start

sailing,” Vasentine said. “Everything just kind of fell backward

there for a little bit.”

* CORAL WILSON is the news assistant and may be reached at (949)

574-4298 or by e-mail at [email protected].