Preliminary report on Lake Tahoe capsizing: 10 foot waves reported, those killed wore no life vests, toxicology report pending

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its preliminary report on the June 21 capsizing of a boat with 10 people on board on Lake Tahoe near D.L. Bliss State Park.

The two survivors of the capsizing were rescued wearing or clinging to life vests. The eight fatalities were reported to not be wearing any personal flotation devices.

In its report released on July 23, the NTSB states that the information is preliminary and subject to change. The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office (EDSO) still has an ongoing investigation into the tragic event and deaths. The status of its parallel investigation is unknown as calls to EDSO were not returned.

The 28-foot boat, Over the Moon, capsized at about 2:57 p.m. after setting off from a pier near Tahoe City at 10:40 a.m. The boat, captained by one of the boat’s two owners, had four adults on board at that time. They then stopped by two other marinas, with six additional passengers boarding at the second marina.

After all the passengers had boarded at 11:58 a.m., the boat traveled to Emerald Bay and anchored in the bay for about 1-1.5 hours. Weather conditions at the time were clear skies, light southerly winds, and an air temperature of 54 degrees.

The NTSB report states the National Weather Service had issued no marine warnings or small craft advisories for the Lake Tahoe area for the day, although the local forecast indicated a slight chance of thunderstorms. See South Tahoe Now story on the winds and waves at the time HERE.

Sometime before 2 p.m., the clouds increased, and the operator decided to return to the marina where he had picked up the passengers. However, after getting underway, the winds, rain, and waves increased, and he decided to return to Emerald Bay. After about 10 minutes, the operator made a second attempt to return to the marina.

At about 2:57 p.m., the recreational vessel capsized while on the western side of Lake Tahoe near the D.L. Bliss State Park after leaving Emerald Bay.

Eight people died, and two were injured. 

One of the survivors told investigators that, once the Over the Moon was away from Emerald Bay, 2- to 3-foot waves splashed into the boat with the pouring rain, but no water was accumulating on the deck. The winds increased; the survivor reported marble-sized hail collecting in the boat and that the waves increased to 8–10 feet.

She recalled that a few of these waves broke over the sides and bow, and about an inch of water accumulated on the boat deck. The bilge pumps were turned on by the operator.

At about 2:36 p.m., time lapse footage from a camera about 1.5 nautical miles south of the casualty site (looking in the direction of South Lake Tahoe) captured whitecaps on the lake and low-layer clouds moving from north to south.​​

About 2:45 p.m., the footage showed blowing rain and mixed freezing precipitation and, at 2:49 p.m., blowing snow.

At 2:53, the nearest automated weather reporting station (about 7 nautical miles southeast of the casualty location) recorded winds from the north at 14 knots with a peak wind of 34 knots. The water temperature was reported to be 54°F.

At some point, with the vessel between 50 and 100 yards offshore, Over the Moon’s engine stopped, and the boat ended up sideways (broadside) to the waves. The boat took on water and some of the passengers attempted to bail the water out of the boat. The boat listed to starboard, submerging the starboard aft corner. At one point, a particularly large wave overtook the boat, causing water to enter the boat. One of the survivors donned a personal floatation device (PFD) and distributed PFDs to everyone else in the boat. No one else immediately donned their PFD according to the repot. Shortly after, the boat rolled over to starboard, and the passengers entered the water. The survivor recalled that it started snowing after the boat rolled over while the people were in the water. 

No distress calls were made from the boat.

Around 2:57, a group of hikers witnessed the boat capsize after a large wave washed over it. At 2:58 p.m., one of the hikers called 911. Another hiker and a California State Parks lifeguard helped recover the survivors from the water. Multiple agencies responded, including paramedics and a sheriff’s marine unit; the marine unit reported 8-foot waves in the area.

Initially, eight people were recovered (including the two survivors). Six of the recovered people (one of whom was the operator) were pronounced deceased on scene, some following CPR efforts. None of the six deceased were wearing Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs).

Of the two survivors, one was wearing a PFD and the other was clinging to a PFD; they were both transported to a hospital for medical treatment.

The remaining two passengers were found and recovered from the lake bottom near the casualty site the next day. Four PFDs and one life ring, all from the vessel, were recovered from the accident site.

The sudden weather situation and squalls ended quickly. At about 4:05 p.m., the snow stopped, and the weather began to clear, with cloudless skies by 5:25 p.m.

The following afternoon, the US Coast Guard declared the accident a major marine casualty. NTSB was named as the lead federal agency for the safety investigation, and an NTSB investigator launched to the South Lake Tahoe area. Winnebago Industries and Chris-Craft Corporation (a subsidiary of Winnebago Industries) were named as parties to the NTSB investigation.

On June 22, a salvage company recovered the boat, which was later examined by US Coast Guard and NTSB investigators and party representatives.

Investigators did not find any evidence of a hull leak, grounding, or contact with an object.

On the vessel, investigators found one PFD still in its plastic packaging with tags on it, one infant life vest still in its packaging, an unzipped life vest stowage bag, and five inflatable PFDs in stowage compartments.

Electronic systems that potentially have internal memory were recovered and sent to the NTSB laboratory for further examination. The vessel’s two bilge pumps and engine fuel filter were retained for further examination.

No pollution was reported at the casualty site. 

At almost the same time, another capsizing was unfolding on the South Shore near the entrance to the Tahoe Keys. Ten people ended up in the water, all rescued safely and taken to shore. 

For its investigation, the NTSB interviewed one survivor, a lifeguard, witnesses and good Samaritans, salvage company personnel, and personnel employed for the stowage, launching, and recovery of the boat.

Toxicology tests for alcohol and other drugs for the deceased were conducted, and results are pending.​​​​

The NTSB investigation of all aspects of the accident is ongoing.​

​Boat details: The Over the Moon was a privately owned, California-registered, 28-foot-long Chris-Craft Launch-28 GT valued at $393,000.

It was built in 2023 with a fiberglass-reinforced-plastic hull and an 8-cylinder, 6.2-liter, 430-hp Volvo Penta direct-injected gasoline engine.

The vessel had seating capacity for 12 people and was fitted with two 1,100 gallons per hour automatic bilge pumps.

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