A local author who lost her sister in the Conception maritime disaster will discuss her book about it, “Her Last Voyage,” on Friday, Aug. 23, as the fifth anniversary of the tragedy that killed six Santa Cruz County residents approaches.
Conception dive boat fire 2019
Posted inLatest News
Captain found guilty of negligence in Conception boat fire that killed 34, 6 from Santa Cruz County
Jerry Boylan was convicted by a federal jury in connection with the 2019 fire that killed 34 people on the Conception dive boat off the Santa Barbara coast. Six of the victims were from Santa Cruz County.
Posted inLatest News
Captain of Conception dive boat where 34 died is on trial. Is he criminally negligent?
Prosecutors say Jerry Boylan was negligent when he failed to institute a roving night watch or conduct proper fire drills aboard the Conception before it caught fire in 2019, killing 34, including six from Santa Cruz County. Boylan has pleaded not guilty.
Posted inLatest News
As Conception boat burned, divers trapped below deck calmly looked for way out, video shows
Federal investigators have recovered a short video recorded by a victim of the Conception boat tragedy as the 34 people trapped below deck tried to find a way off the burning ship. Six Santa Cruz County residents were among those killed in the 2019 tragedy.
Posted inLatest News
Judge throws out indictment vs. captain in Conception boat fire that killed 34, including 6 from Santa Cruz County
Three years to the day after the fatal blaze off the Santa Barbara Coast, a federal judge in Los Angeles tossed an indictment of seaman’s manslaughter against Jerry Boylan, saying prosecutors hadn’t properly specified gross negligence on the dive boat captain’s part.
Posted inCoast Life
Coast Guard’s failure to act on boat safety costs lives in Conception fire, feds say
The NTSB chairwoman says the Conception fire and other maritime disasters were preventable, but that the Coast Guard has either ignored or slowly implemented her agency’s safety recommendations.
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Families of 34 who died in Conception dive boat disaster sue Coast Guard
On the eve of the second anniversary of California’s worst maritime disaster, the wrongful-death lawsuit alleges the U.S. Coast Guard failed to enforce regulations in the fire whose victims included six Santa Cruz County residents.
Posted inEnvironment
A day to ‘Live like Vai’: Beloved Conception dive boat victim Vaidehi Campbell Williams fittingly celebrated
Friends, family, co-workers turned out to honor Vaidehi Campbell Williams with a memorial garden at the Soquel Creek Water District. Vai, as most knew her, was killed with 33 others on the dive boat Conception off the Channel Islands over Labor Day weekend in 2019.
Posted inCoast Life
Conception boat owner, criticized as ‘woefully underinsured,’ sells rest of fleet
Facing a flurry of lawsuits, the owner of the Conception dive boat that burned and killed 34, including five Santa Cruz County residents, has sold the two remaining boats in its fleet.
Posted inCoast Life
Captain of Conception dive boat Jerry Boylan pleads not guilty to manslaughter charges
Boylan, who has been allowed to remain free since a 34-count indictment against him was revealed in November, was ordered by a magistrate judge to post a $250,000 bond Tuesday as part of the terms of his release.