Mystery surrounding why there was a full-sized two-story house floating in San Francisco Bay
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: ABC7 News Bay Area via YouTube/KPIX-CBS NEWS BAY AREA via YouTube
When the solar eclipse took place earlier this month, many people's eyes were fixed on the sky.
Perhaps too many actually, as Google searches for 'why do my eyes hurt' skyrocketed after the spectacle took place.
And while that was of course the main event, a mystery remains surrounding something else that took place at the same time.
On 8 April, a two-story house was seen floating on the San Francisco Bay for what is said to be for at least three days.
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Crowds were gathering along the waterfront at San Francisco’s Exploratorium to watch the solar eclipse earlier this month when they noticed something a little unusual.
When looking out to the bay, many onlookers noticed a big wooden house sat in the middle of the water.
The home managed to navigate its way around Alcatraz Island with help from a slow tow boat.
The boat was then not seen for a little while, before it was tracked down by Nexstar’s KRON last Tuesday (16 April).
It's now anchored in Richardson Bay, north of San Francisco and offshore from Sausalito.
So, you are probably wondering how on Earth the house was able to float for such a long time.
Well, the US Coast Guard officials have since commented saying the house was able to float because it's on a large barge.
The house began its voyage somewhere south of the San Francisco Bay, the Coast Guard has also confirmed.
While a lot of mystery still remains surrounding the boat, some answers have since been revealed.
The boat was the last of a community of houseboats that was evicted from Docktown at the Redwood City Marina.
The collection of houses was once home to more than 100 people, but a year-long legal battle has left them displaced.
The city paid out over $1 million in settlements, with the houseboat seen recently the second to last still remaining at Docktown, according to SFGate.
Phil Hott, who knowns a fair bit about houseboats, told NBC Bay Area: "It was up a twisty channel, so you have to have the tide right and you have to come down without the wind blowing you into the bank.
"These things are very heavy. Then it has to travel through the Bay. And the winds and the tide changes and the current is going out. You don’t want it to drag you out to the Golden Gate Bridge."