Sunken sailboat now back afloat on Lake Tahoe

The 26-foot sailboat that spent most of the winter at the bottom of Lake Tahoe is now back afloat and resting just off the shore of El Dorado Beach.

TowBoatU.S. Lake Tahoe was hired by the owner of the boat to bring it up. The towboat company's owner Geoff Burrows said they had gone to the site of the sunken boat twice before, but rough water had prevented them from seeing the whole boat. When Burrows arrived at the scene on Tuesday he found that the large windows on the boat were broken. He needed to be able to lift the boat a lot higher out of the water to pump water out, a task he and his crew were able to accomplish on Wednesday.

The boat has now been refloated and Burrows said the owner has plans to restore it.

Burrows said the boat has some damage, but it's all above the water line. Per instructions from the boat's owner and their insurance company the boat has been moved closer to shore.

TowBoatU.S. Lake Tahoe provides on-the-water towing and salvage, with their primary towboat responding out of the Tahoe Keys, and a second towboat responding out of Tahoe City Marina. Burrows said they are a local business that contracts with BoatU.S., a nationwide company that offers boat towing memberships, similar to AAA for cars. For an annual fee of $72 most towing related services are free. They are also available to assist non-members on an hourly basis. Burrows has been in the business since 1995, but previous owners started the service in 1964