RedactedNarrative: On September 11, 2018 at approximately 1630 hours I, NC Wildlife Enforcement Officer, received a call from my dispatch in reference to a sailboat crashing in to a powerline on the Northeast Cape Fear river near Castle Hayne, NC.  I arrived on scene in my patrol boat on the Northeast Cape Fear river adjacent to the Riverside Park located at the end of Old Bridgesite Rd at approximately 1800 hours.  Underneath the main powerline running over the river I observed 2 lines that were hanging down over the river closer than normal to the water's surface and one line that was cut and hanging down into the river.  The line that was in the water was a Duke Energy Progress neutral line, and the line that was hanging only a few feet above the water level was a Sprint fiber optic line, and the line that was hanging several yards above the water line was a Spectrum fiber optic line.  Vessel 1 was down river a few hundred yards to the north of the damaged lines anchored in the river.  
  
  After assisting Duke Energy Progress linemen reattach the two ends of their neutral line, I patrolled over to Vessel 1 and interviewed the owner and operator.  According to Operator, He was operating Vessel 1 at approximately 1630 hours on September 11, 2018 when the accident occurred.  Operator said that he was standing at the helm of Vessel 1 cruising at a speed of less than 10 mph heading up river in a southerly direction in the middle of the channel when the approximately 60' tall mast of Vessel 1 impacted 3 lines spanning across the NE Cape Fear River from east to west.  The mast of Vessel 1 sustained minor damage including a broken stay cable.  The impact from Vessel 1's mast broke a Duke Energy Progress neutral cable line and left two fiber optic cables hanging loosely over the river's surface.   Operator sustained no injuries during the collision.  After the collision was over, Operator cruised back down river and anchored up Vessel 1 a few hundred yards away from the powerline.  Duke Energy Progress Lineman estimated the cost to repair the damage to the Duke Energy Progress neutral line to be around $5000.00.
  
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