A lightweight torpedo used for training was found Monday by a boater off Dana Point and recovered by U.S. Navy and Orange County Sheriff’s Department bomb experts.
Sean Sheehan told The Orange County Register he was out on the water looking for dolphins and whales when he spotted the torpedo about 30 feet away.
Upon getting a closer look and realizing it was a torpedo, Sheehan called the Harbor Patrol and was told it would respond and investigate.
Sheehan told The Register he stayed in the area to alert other boaters and waited for law enforcement to respond.
When time passed and no one came out, he said he called the Coast Guard, asking if it had been made aware of the situation. A Coast Guard representative told him it had coordinated with the Navy on the planned recovery, Sheehan told The Register.
The object was confirmed to be a recoverable training torpedo with no propulsion system or explosives, Navy Cmdr. Sean Robertson told The Register.
The torpedo was dropped from aircraft or ships in training, and that most are recovered by a recovery vehicle, but sometimes they are missed, Robertson told The Register.
