The following accident occurred on August 31, 2012 at approximately 1145 hours.

The operator of Vessel I was traveling in a southeasterly direction when he observed a dog onshore which appeared to be pacing frantically.  Concerned that the dog was searching for its owner in distress, the operator slowed to idle and began searching around the water, as he thought he saw something that could have been a body. When he realized that what he saw was a swim line marker, he began to turn the vessel around. As he did so, he saw a swimmer right next to him and immediately pulled the emergency cord; however, the momentum of the vessel caused it to strike the swimmer. The swimmer refused the operator's offers to assist her, stating that she was okay.  Once on shore, the injured swimmer felt nauseous and after driving herself home, had a friend bring her to the hospital. A CAT scan was negative for intracranial bleeding and manual palpation indicated there was no need for X-rays.  There was significant external swelling and bruising on the victim's forehead as a result of the collision. The victim believes she had a concussion, but this was not confirmed by the hospital.  

The investigator of this accident does not find the operator of Vessel I to be at fault for the collision; the swimmer was wearing a black wetsuit and a dark blue swim cap, making her difficult to see given the choppy water and the fact that she was outside the marked swimline (the collision occurred approximately 195 feet from shore).

Center Harbor                 