As abandoned boats pile up in Bay Area waters, who’s responsible for the environmental damage?

On Jan. 2, a 27-foot sailboat sank off the southern coast of Alameda in stormy weather. Rescue crews saved the man on board, but the ship landed beside a long rock wall jutting from the island.

The next day, Brock De Lappe, a former harbor master and Alameda resident, walked over to the rock wall. The boat floated nose up, half submerged in water. From the shore, he could see its registration number had been scratched off the side, a practice some owners take to avoid having a jettisoned boat traced back to them.