A sudden, late-night fire destroyed or heavily damaged at least 10 yachts last week at the Marina Palmira in La Paz, Mexico.
Local accounts said at least five boats sank and five others were damaged in a fire that started about 3 a.m. One boat, a 107-foot Hatteras named Optimus, caught on fire and drifted away from its dock before burning to the waterline against a seawall (see picture below). Optimus was launched in 2019 and took its maiden voyage from the Hatteras factory in New Bern, North Carolina, to New York.
Marina Palmira is a full-service marina with 180 slips in La Paz at the gateway to the Sea of Cortez, a worldwide destination for cruising and fishing yachts because of it rich marine life. It has gas and fuel docks, the usual amenities, and shops and restaurants along the shoreside close to a highway. It can handle yachts up to 160 feet.
Firefighters arrived within 30 minutes of the first alarm; Mexico’s Guardia Nacional was among the first responders. A breeze running parallel to the docks helped to spread the fire from one boat to the next.
A large yacht tied up on an outer dock broke free when its lines burned and it started drifting toward a dock with megayachts; it came close to a 120-foot wooden yacht until people moved it just in time. Crew on various charter boats were busy moving their vessels out of the way.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Read more: https://www.superyachtnews.com/operations/blaze-at-mexican-marina\
La #GuardiaNacional activó el #PlanGN_A de auxilio a la población, tras registrarse un incendio que afectó diversas embarcaciones en el área de Marina Palmira en el municipio de La Paz #BCS. En la zona se brinda seguridad perimetral y apoyo con una cisterna para sofocar el fuego. pic.twitter.com/8dZ6sNln9D
— Guardia Nacional (@GN_MEXICO_) November 2, 2023
