Balboa Island ferry is briefly landbound

One of the Balboa Island Ferry’s three boats is out of commission this week after the 57-foot vessel dubbed Captain struck an underground portion of sea wall in Newport Harbor.

“It would have been a fairly minor event, except the tide was going out and the ferry was stuck and we couldn’t get it off,” said ferry owner Seymour Beek.

There were no passengers onboard during the incident, which happened about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The incident caused enough damage to the hull that the vessel is now at a local shipyard for repairs.

Drivers who want to cross Newport Harbor on the ferry in their cars might notice slight delays while the ferry service only has two boats running instead of three, Beek said.

— Brianna Bailey