RedactedNarrative: On saturday 08/15/15, a family was enjoying lake gaston in nc as many times before.  The weather was clear and visible.  The wind was calm and the water was smooth.  On that day the family was operating their vessel with their son who was skiing behind the 21 ft. Bow rider vessel.  As the family was going around an island located on lake gaston, their boat hit something under water at approximately 11:15 am. According to operator, his vessel was traveling approximately 10 to 20 mph at the moment of impact.  The vessel came to a stop and the operator noticed the lower unit oil was spilling onto the water surface.  The vessel then began to take on water.
   
   The pump stopped working and the family called a friend to come out and tow them to shore. When the family pulled the vessel out of the lake, the entire lower unit was ripped off the vessel.  Operator had been in that part of the lake many times in the past.  According to operator, he remembered he had not seen the danger buoys in place during the time of the accident.  The family returned the next day and took pictures of the area where the accident took place.  They said they did not see the buoy in the place it was normally located.  
   
  According to operator, they were at least 30ft from where the buoy is normally located when they operated in that area that day.  The damage received on the vessel is in excess of $3,000.00.  Operator made a report to the north carolina wildlife resources commission division of enforcement. Upon reviewing the evidence taken and the details of the report, the factors that contributed to the accident were that the missing buoy was not in its normal place to warn operators of vessels to stay clear of the danger area.  Operator has over 100 hours of boat operation and has been on that lake many times before.  There were no injuries reported during the incident,  but the major loss were the damages done to the vessel on that saturday morning.
   