RedactedNarrative: V1 was traveling south along the coast. V1 attempted to enter the channel running into the Gulf of Mexico from Big Pass in Sarasota County. V1 ran aground on a sandbar north of the marked channel. Damage to the vessel caused it to sink. 
  
  I interviewed Operator to determine how his vessel ran aground. He said he was the only occupant onboard the vessel at the time of the grounding and was not injured. He advised he was following the coastline south from Tampa Bay to the Keys. He said around 5:00 PM he neared Big Pass and began looking for channel markers. At the time of the grounding he was using the vessel's inboard motor to power the vessel. He said he was traveling approximately 3 to 5 mph at the time of the crash. 
  
  Operator said he saw the green and red channel markers coming out of Big Pass. The two channel markers he saw were identified as Green # 1 and Red # 2. Operator said he was to the northwest of the markers and began navigating towards them to get in the channel to follow it around the beach and further south. Operator tried to enter the channel southwest of the channel markers where there is a large sandbar that is constantly shifting with the tides.