On 11/18/2012 a vessel (DO1128523) was cruising from Fort Myers, FL to Key West, FL and struck the East Jetty causing the vessel to lose steering and propulsion.  No injuries were sustained.

On 11/18/2012 I, Officer arrived to a reported vessel (DO1128523) taking on water in the Northwest Channel in the Gulf of Mexico near Key West, FL.  Due to the rough ocean conditions I was not able to communicate with the captain of the vessel until it had been towed to shore (Robbie's Marina, Stock Island, FL).  Once the vessel made it safely to shore I initiated contact with the owner and captain of the vessel.  

Operator stated that he was cruising from Fort Myers, FL to Key West, FL when he attempted to "cut inside the jetty."  Operators vessel struck the submerged jetty causing substantial damage to the vessel.  Operator reported in his statement that he did not see the submerged jetty on his chart plotter that he was using to navigate.  After striking the jetty, Operator noticed that he had lost steering and propulsion so he made the decision to anchor his vessel and call for assistance.  During the incident, the vessel's propeller became fouled on a lobster trap line, which was noticed while enroute back to mainland.  After hearing Operator's sequence of events it does not seem plausible that the fouled line in the propeller contributed to Operator striking the jetty.  It was determined that the line became fouled in the propeller after Operator struck the jetty and lost steerage.  There was no environmental damage sustained during the incident nor were there any injuries to the operator and occupant of the vessel.  Operator estimated the damage to be between thirty and fifty thousand dollars.  Operator stated that he had taken a boating safety course with USCG.

KEY WEST                      