RedactedNarrative: On monday may 20, 2019 around 6:30 pm, operator1 and his wife were cruising in their 32' sportfish boat on the icw just past swansboro, heading south.  When they got near banks channel,they were approached by a coast guard vessel who stopped their vessel and warned them that they were in a live fire military zone.  
  
  During the vessel stop, operator1' boat had drifted on a shoal and became stuck.  They decided to wait until high tide to try to move the vessel.  A few hours later, they felt the boat beginning to break loose from the shoal, so they started the engine and pulled away from the shoal. That's when operator1 noticed smoke coming from the engine room.  So he called the coast guard for assistance.  By that time, smoke had filled the cabin, so he and his wife abandoned ship, put on their life vests and jumped into their lifeboat.  The coast guard and tow boat us both arrived on scene about 30 minutes later.  The vessel was eventually towed back to town creek marina in beaufort. The cause of the fire is thought to be the result of debris getting stuck in the intake valve, causing the engine to overheat and catch fire. The fire damaged the alternator on the portside engine. No injuries were reported. The estimated property damage is $2,000.
  
  *******end of report***
  