Families sail out to honor victims of dive boat fire
One year after tragedy, loved ones visit waters where 34 people died
For 34 families from across the country, the chilly, windswept waters off Santa Cruz Island were a scene of unfathomable tragedy a year ago. The scuba diving charter boat where their loved ones slept burst aflame overnight, trapping them inside, and sank in what is considered the worst modern maritime disaster in California history.
But today, many of those grieving families are boating out to those waters, 20 miles from the Ventura shore, in their memory, some to dive among the marine life, others to simply soak up the breathtaking natural beauty that had inspired those they lost.
“For me it’s sacred ground, sacred waters,” said Susana Solano Rosas, of Stockton, whose former husband, Michael Quitasol, his wife, and three of their four daughters were among the 34 killed on the Conception’s ill-fated final voyage. “I don’t want them to be forgotten. They were such wonderful people doing such wonderful things for the community.”
What ignited the fire that killed all 33 passengers and a crew member who were
sleeping below the main deck on the dive boat remains uncertain. The National Transportation Safety Board this week scheduled an Oct. 20 meeting to discuss findings of its investigation and finalize its report.
In its preliminary report last September, the NTSB noted that when the fire erupted around 3:14 a.m., the five surviving crew members were all asleep in berths on the upper deck — which would violate maritime safety protocols requiring a roving night watchman at all times.
While criminal investigations continue, civil lawsuits on behalf of the fire victims’ families point to the middle deck’s electronic charging stations, used for various cameras, computers and other electronic gear powered by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, as a likely source of the blaze. The middle — or main — deck is located directly above the sleeping quarters and includes the galley, dining area and dive deck. The wheelhouse is on the upper deck.
Filings on behalf of four families this year alleged the Santa Barbara dive boat charter company, Truth Aquatics, had a close call a year earlier on one of the Conception’s two sister ships, the Vision, when a lithium-ion battery overheated and caught fire.
But the charter company “failed to report this fire for further investigation, failed to perform safety risk assessments after this fire and failed to warn the vessel’s crew and passengers about the risk of fire caused by lithium batteries,” the lawsuits alleged in January.
Without a night watchman and lacking fire alarms that sounded above deck, the lawsuits allege, the fire was out of control by the time crew members were awakened by the noise, and the only exits for those sleeping below were a stairwell and an escape hatch that both led to the furiously burning middle deck.
The vessel had last passed inspection by the U.S. Coast Guard in February 2019.
Lawyers representing Truth Aquatics and its owners, Glen and Dana Fritzler of Santa Barbara, did not respond to requests for comment. But in a federal
court filing last week, they acknowledged an ongoing criminal investigation of possible manslaughter charges by the U.S. Coast Guard, FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The court filing indicated that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in July met with the Conception’s surviving captain, Jerry Boylan, in a manner that suggested it “has sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges.”
For many of the fire victims’ families, the carelessness that contributed to the Conception catastrophe only adds to their anguish a year later.
“It’s such a horrible tragedy that was absolutely preventable,” Rosas, who lost daughters EvanMichel, Nicole and Angela Rose Quitasol, said tearfully. “They didn’t deserve that to happen at the prime of their life. Hopefully, because of this tragedy, the law will change so everybody has a chance to get out. They had no chance.”
Others are struggling to move on with their loss.
“It’s a complete tragedy. Whether it was someone’s fault or not, it happened,” said Brett Harmeling, of Houston, who lost his sister, Kristy Finstad, a diving
instructor and marine biologist who ran Worldwide Diving Adventures in Santa Cruz with her husband. “Now it comes down to moving forward with love and kindness.”
Harmeling, who plans to join other family members in the memorial dive today, said grief comes in waves, and “some days are harder than the day it happened.”
“It’s been a challenging year for the family and all the families involved,” Harmeling said.
“It’s hard to believe that it happened and that Kristy’s no longer here. Kristy was a big part of my life. She allowed me to see the world through a different lens. That’s what I miss about her. I do my best every day to bring about her legacy. But I also believe in divine timing and that God took her home for a reason. I’ll never question his call. It gives me peace at least.”
Vicki Moore, of Los Altos, who lost her husband, Scott Chan, and their daughter, Kendra Chan, has devoted the year since to setting up a memorial fund for marine conservation through the Nature Conservancy in their honor.
“They had very full lives and great impact,” Moore said of her husband, an
electrical engineer who became a teacher, and her daughter, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Ventura. “I’ve been doing everything I can to continue that.”
The families have kept in touch through email and social media, but the coronavirus pandemic scuttled planned get-togethers.
Even today’s outings, which include a chartered boat out of Ventura for a memorial dive and one out of Santa Barbara for other family members to be there, will require face masks and social distancing.
There will be formal recognition of memorials underwater at the scene and at the Santa Barbara harbor, but the event is largely
unscripted, and the families have asked news reporters to respect their privacy.
While some will dive in memory of the lost divers, others, such as Rosas and Moore, plan just to enjoy the moment above water. Some families, Rosas said, chose to mark the occasion in their own way back home.
“It’s going to be a very emotional experience, but I think a very important one,” Moore said. “There is this community that shared in the grief where all this happened to us. There’s a lot of comfort in meeting with others that experienced a loss like this.”