On October 5th, 2013 at a boating accident occurred on Canyon Lake, public water, in Comal County, TX when the operator ran his brother’s 17 foot Glastron Ski boat up on to a rock ledge and grounded the said boat off the point at Crane’s Mill Park.  
	
According to Operator they left boat ramp #6 at approximately 1:00 pm and went over to the area of the dam where they wake boarded and floated for approximately 4-5 hours.  Operator stated his wife and brother consumed numerous alcoholic beverages during that time so he decided to operate the vessel back. (Game Warden observed and documented 10 empty beer cans in the boat’s front bow compartment after the accident).   

Upon leaving the dam, Operator and his brother got lost and could not find their way back to the boat ramp, neither had much experience operating boats or navigating Canyon Lake, therefore, they ran the shoreline on the north side of the lake all the way back to the mouth of the river before they turned around to run the south side shoreline back to the dam, searching for the cove their ramp was located in.  As they were headed back to the dam area, Operator was following the south shore line very closely.  As he made the turn around the point of Crane’s Mill Park, Operator turned too close in to shore in to shallower water and he ran the boat up on to a rock ledge just inches beneath the surface of the water grounding the boat.  The boat was on plane when that occurred, once it hit the rocks it almost immediately stopped.   

Unsure what to do, they called the Comal County Sheriff’s Office and they dispatched a tow service.  At approximately 8:30 PM, the Sea Tow service arrived on scene to assist.  It was determined that the boat was unable to be towed with the equipment they had that night, therefore, they transported the subjects back to their vehicle at the ramp.   

On October 7th, 2013, Game Warden interviewed Operator about the accident and had him complete a boating accident report.  Warden concluded that no one was injured during the accident, the operator had little experience operating boats, he and his brother were unfamiliar with Canyon Lake, it was Operators first time there, and he (Operator) did not consume alcohol prior to the accident.  Furthermore, both children were wearing coast guard approved life jackets and the boat was equipped with all the other water safety equipment required by state law, therefore no citations were issued.
STARTZVILLE