The October 24 bomb cyclone significantly impacted anchor-out vessels. According to USA Today, the recent low pressure phenomenon pulled deep tropical moisture from the Pacific Ocean, creating an atmospheric river that brought strong wind gusts and heavy rain on land and in Richardson’s Bay.
Jim Malcolm, the new harbormaster for the Richardson’s Bay Regional Agency (RBRA) reports that two anchor-outs sank on their anchorage and six drifted off. Of the vessels that went adrift, two hove to in the Audubon sanctuary, three grounded on the Tiburon shore, and one made contact with a home/dock on the west shore of Belvedere.
As of October 27, two vessels remained grounded on Tiburon and all other vessels that went adrift had either been returned to their anchorage or were retrieved from Tiburon shore and taken to the Army Corps of Engineers debris dock.
Both of the vessels that sank did so without loss of life or injury, according to an investigation by RBRA staff.