ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – No one was aboard a sailboat believed to have been stolen after it struck the Bridge of Lions Thursday morning.
The Coast Guard was notified at 7:30 a.m. that the mast of a sailboat had struck the bridge. Authorities searched the water in case someone who may have been piloting the boat was knocked overboard.
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The owner said that he left the boat docked with the sail stowed at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina. Authorities found the boat resting against the span with the sail deployed.
Coast Guard and St. Johns County personnel searched the water in case someone was on board when the boat made impact. The search was later discontinued and case turned over to the St. Augustine police for investigation.
Police said they found footprints on the boat, which was pulled away from the bridge. The owner took it back to the slip at St. Augustine Municipal Marina.
There was no apparent damage to the span of the bridge and traffic was not interrupted.