The sudden demise of the Volare, a 49-foot cabin cruiser that sank in the San Francisco Bay, killing two people and leaving two missing, began with a blast of smoke and a long trail that drifted across the water, according to videos reviewed by the Chronicle on Thursday and eyewitness accounts.
Within two minutes, the smoke was gone as the bottom of the boat submerged into the bay.
San Francisco Police Department officials, who took over the investigation into the cause of the sinking Thursday, may not know why the Volare sank until the boat is lifted out of the water, a complicated and expensive task. First, investigators must locate the vessel, analyze its structural soundness and find a company to retrieve it…