Famous Aptos Cement Ship Smashed By Storm Surf

APTOS, CA — A wild weekend of high surf smashed one of California’s most famous coastal landmarks. The S.S. Palo Alto, a World War I-era concrete ship built in Oakland, which sat sentinel on the Seacliff State Beach for decades, was overturned and damaged during the storm, according to multiple media outlets.

The slowly disintegrating ship has long been closed to the public, but in the past it was used for fishing and as an artificial reef, according to officials with the California Department of Parks and Recreation. The well-known ship is featured at the top of the Seacliff State Beach California Department of Parks and Recreation page and the Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks Facebook page. Read more about the history of the S.S. Palo Alto on the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

The high-surf advisory and high tides due to the intense storm forced police to temporarily close the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf over the weekend.

Another devastating winter storm that roared through Northern California earlier this month felled one of the more famous trees in the Bay Area. The Pioneer Cabin Tree, perhaps better known as the Drive-Through Tree, was discovered toppled on Jan. 8, a victim of Mother Nature. The giant sequoia was located in Calaveras Big Trees State Park in Calaveras County.

Full Story:

• Storm Topples Northern California's Historic 'Tunnel' Tree

Photos of Cement Ship courtesy Robin Neal