$3M yacht pulled from jetty

A salvage operation for a 60-foot cabin cruiser that crashed into the west jetty at the Newport Harbor entrance on Aug. 11 was completed Monday by a private company.

Crescendo, the boat valued at $3 million, sank off the rocks of the jetty while Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol rescued several passengers on board, Watch Commander Fritz von Ruttberg said. No one was injured and all six passengers of the vessel made it safely off the boat, von Ruttberg said.

The private salvage company had to first control a diesel spill from the boat, and prepare the craft to be towed before it could be lifted from the water, authorities said. Repairs included a large hole in the boat’s side, and the pumping of water out of the vessel.

After the Crescendo was pulled to the surface just off of Newport Beach, it was towed down the coast to a private yard where it is scheduled for mending.

— Kelly Strodl