At the stateline fuel dock I met with NPS Ranger and the reporting party members.  Operator1 stated to me that they had stopped out in the bay just outside of the boat rental area to transfer some gear from their rental houseboat to his son's personal boat.  He told me they tied up the personal boat along side the houseboat on the houseboat's port side toward the rear.  Operator1 stated there was a very large white yacht that had about three levels including a sky bridge that had been driving in circles out in the bay.  He stated that when this yacht's wake (3-4 feet in height) reached their vessels it violently started to smash the personal boat into the houseboat causing damage to the personal boat.  He stated he yelled to his wife to hang on to something as the wake was rocking the houseboat.  Operator1's wife grabbed on to the door frame of the rear sliding glass door on the houseboat to get balance.  When she did this the sliding glass door slammed closed on her hand when the wake rocked the boat.  This caused a large laceration on her hand that would require stitches.  I later (approximately Sept 30) spoke to subect and she informed me that victim’s had broken her hand in 3 places and would require surgery. Operator1 also stated that he was thrown down on the houseboat on his back from the wake rocking the houseboat.  Operator1 also told me that the kitchen cabinets of the houseboat had been thrown open and dishes had fallen out and broken during the wake hitting the houseboat.  I had father and son fill out witness statements.

I surveyed the damage on the personal boat owned by V2Owner.  The vessel is made out of metal and had three large dents with scraping around them along the top of the gunnel on the starboard side (see pics attached).  It also had a large scrape on the metal above the drivers seat and some broken snaps where canvas attached to the metal in that same area.  I then surveyed the port side of the houseboat toward the rear of the vessel where the personal boat was tied.  I found new scrape marks and paint transfers matching the personal boat on the metal railings, supports and post on that side of the houseboat.  The damage to both of these vessels seemed to be very likely caused by a large wake causing the two boats to rock and smash against each other.

I told the family that I had seen the boat they had described doing circles in the bay when I was heading on the lake for the day and that I would attempt to locate it in the Wahweap Marina.  I responded to the Wahweap Marina to look for the vessel I had seen in the bay earlier driving in circles.  It was a very large white yacht that I estimated the length of over 50 feet and as there are very few cabin cruiser yacht style vessels that size on Lake Powell.

I located a large white cabin cruiser at the Wahweap fuel dock and spoke to the operator, who was an Aramark captian, piloting the vessel.  He stated he had not been outside the marina with this boat and had not struck anyone else