At approx. 3:30 pm on May 16, 2011 I Officer of The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was dispatched to a boating accident at the Club Med Resort in Port St. Lucie.  The individual that called in the accident owner of Treasure Coast Discovery Inc. which is a personal watercraft rental vendor at the Club Med Resort.  I met owner at the resorts entry gate and was escorted to the pavilion next to the dock where the personal watercrafts and kept. owner told me that a customer of his had been involved in an accident and had done damage to a PWC.  I examined the vessel and found fiberglass damage to the front and some of the trim was also broken off.   The damage consisted of  slightly smashed in top portion of the front and hull and scratches on the hull  just left of the front.  I opened up the engine compartment and found the the motor had slid forward and left in the direction of impact.  It had come loose from the motor mounts and disengaged from the jet drive. The motor caused some fiberglass damage inside the engine compartment and some of the hoses were smashed.

subject was at the dock and stated that he was uninjured from the accident.  When I asked him what had happened, he stated that he was returning to the dock area at approx. 20 mph and tried to turn to avoid a small sailboat and after letting off the accelerator the PWC would not turn and he hit the piling of the Manatee Zone sign.  I could not find anyone that witnessed the accident or the sailboat.  I concluded that  operator had been careless in his operation of the the vessel and issued him a citation for Careless Operation of a Vessel (  F.S. 327.33(2) ) 

Please note that operator indicated that he is a seasonal resident to Florida and gave an alternative address in CT. 
PORT ST. LUCIE                