"On September 3, 2012 at approximately 12:20 pm I got a call from the Rabun County 911 center and they said that someone had struck a submerged tree on Lake Burton with their boat above Camp High Harbor.  They also said that the boat was a rental boat and they gave me the contact information for the owners.  I called the lady from the rental company, and she told me that the boat had some damage to the underside of it and that it was sinking.  I responded to the area of Camp High Harbor and located the boat at a dock that the boat owners did house work for.  The owners were there with the boat and they allowed me to examine the underside of the boat which had some fiberglass damage from where the propeller struck it and the drive shaft was bent.  Also the brass fins on the bottom of the boat were bent.  The rudder was completely gone and the propeller was bent as well.  The engine was also leaking water from each side of it.  I asked the owner how much monetary damage did he estimate was done to the boat and he said around $3,000.00.  He also said that it could be more or less, depending on a more thorough examination.  I asked the owner what was the name and phone number of the person that was renting and operating the boat and he gave me the man's phone number.  I was able to call him and meet with him at the cabin he was renting on Murray Cove Road.  The operator said that he was traveling up in the narrow area of the lake just above Camp High Harbor and he met a boat that was towing a skier.  Then he said that he turned the boat and headed toward the right side of the lake to miss them and when he did so, he hit a submerged tree that was about a foot underneath the water.  He said that none of his 7 passengers were injured and that none of them fell overboard.  I asked (the operator) to write me out and statement explaining what happened and he did so. I asked (the owner of the boat) about the status of the registration since it was expired, and he said that they were in the process of transferring the boat registration over to his son.  ,"
CLAYTON                       