We took this picture on our tour of the San Francisco Bay. The captain of the tour boat pulled up close, as did other boats, like the sailboat in the picture. It turned out to be a flare. It would disappear under the choppy water every once in a while, then bob back up. A couple of official-looking boats eventually came by, then left.

I figured it was an emergency flare tossed out of a boat by a drunk yahoo. But we were still curious, so we lingered after the boat docked and chatted with the captain. He told us we had witnessed the aftermath of a suicide. After somebody jumps from the Golden Gate Bridge, the cops drop a flare behind the person so they can see which way the current might take the body. The captain said somebody was fished out, but he didn’t think he or she lived.