San Francisco boating victims' brother says captain was able seaman; "He is not to blame"

A family member who lost relatives in the San Francisco Bay boating tragedy says his brother who captained the vessel was an experienced seaman and not at fault in the accident.

The Boisa Family of California's Central Valley was in mourning on Thursday after the loss of four people in the sinking of the 49-foot cabin cruiser Volare near Alcatraz Island on Tuesday. Sutter County resident Clifford Boisa, 79, died after being brought to shore by rescuers; his wife Jackie Boisa, sister-in-law Carol Boisa, and a family friend remained missing and are presumed dead. The U.S. Coast Guard suspended the search for the missing boaters on Wednesday evening.

Washington state resident Ralph Boisa, told CBS News Bay Area the outing was a memorial trip to scatter the ashes of a daughter who died in 2016. He said two of his other adult daughters, their husbands and three adult sons, were on board and were among those rescued. On Wednesday morning, Boisa - who was not able to make the trip - was getting ready to take his own boat out near the Coulee Dam in Washington when he received a call from one of his daughters to report what happened.

"We were getting ready to go out this morning on our boat and she called and let us know what happened. And she was very distraught, so, as you can imagine, I'm sure," Ralph Boisa said. ""They were in the middle deck and all of a sudden they realized the boat was tipping over. It was capsizing. We don't have any idea why. But everybody that was in the cabin was struggling to get out. Pounding on windows."

Ralph Boisa's brother, Stockton resident John Boisa, owned the Volare and was captaining the boat at the time it capsized, and he and his wife Miriam were among those rescued. The vessel had made a trip under the Golden Gate Bridge and then north to Angel Island; it was on its way back to the San Francisco Marina Yacht Harbor when authorities said it began taking on rough water and tipped over.

Boisa disputed an account he heard on news reports that his brother was "in over his head" piloting the boat, and noted that his brother served in the U.S. Navy and was familiar with San Francisco Bay waters.

"He was an officer in the Navy and he knows how to handle a boat," said Boisa. "He's been out on the bay and through the Golden Gate and down the coast many times without any mishap of any kind."

As of Wednesday evening, Boisa had not spoken to John, but said that when he does, he will tell him not to blame on himself.

"He will just need to understand that he is not to blame. I mean, my goodness, he was driving a vehicle that his brother and sister lost their lives on, and so he's gonna feel really hard, really bad, and I want him to understand that it was not his fault. There was nothing he could have done." 

Boisa, who said he was a former pastor, said that his family has experienced multiple tragedies over the years and that prayer and their faith have helped carry his family through the adversity.

"I saw my brother [Clifford Boisa] on one of these newscasts, he was laying under a yellow tarp on the dock, and that was just brutal to know my brother was under that tarp," Boisa said.  

Ralph Boisa said "it was so surreal" looking at news reports of what happened, and that when he's seen news reports of other peoples' tragedies he has always tried to remember they are real people who impacted other persons' lives. 

He added that that's how he wanted others to remember his lost family members.

"I want people to know that these were real people. Good people. Family people. Loved their wives, loved their husbands, loved their children. Loved their whole families. And they will be missed."