RedactedNarrative: On 09/03/16 at approximately 9:51 A.M. I, Officer of the Maryland Natural Resources Police, responded to a sailboat that struck the Spa Creek Bridge in Annapolis. Upon arriving on scene I observed a white sailboat approximately 25' in length moored to a mooring ball in Spa Creek above the bridge. I observed that the wooden mast, approximately 37' in length, was broken and splintered. It had fallen down completely with about three quarters of it hanging over the stern of the boat. The end of the mast was splintered into three pieces and various pieces of rigging material were mangled and destroyed. I met with the owner of the vessel, who stated that the bridge had closed onto his sailboat. 
  
  Owner stated that around 9:15 A.M. he contacted the Spa Creek Bridge Tender Operator over VHF Channel 13 and identified his vessel as the "Gannet" and asked if he could pass under the bridge. According to Owner, the Bridge Tender Operator advised that the bridge would be open in approximately 9-11 minutes. Owner advised that around 9:30 A.M. the draw bridge opened and he waited for a large powerboat to proceed through the bridge first, before he entered. Owner stated he was approximately 25' from the bridge when he proceeded towards it. Owner stated that he was about two-thirds of the way through the bridge when the bridge started closing. As the bridge was closing Owner stated that the spreaders on the mast got caught on the bridge, thus causing the mast to splinter and collapse. Owner advised that he immediately hailed the Bridge Tender Operator over VHF Channel 13 and inquired as to why the bridge was lowered when his vessel was underneath it. Owner stated that the Bridge Tender Operator said he never saw any vessel passing underneath the bridge. Owner was assisted to a mooring ball by two good Samaritans where he then contacted the Annapolis Harbormaster. 
  
   I then interviewed two witnesses; one had his sailboat moored in Spa Creek just above the bridge.  Witness1 stated that around 9:30 A.M. he observed Owner's sailing vessel heading towards the Spa Creek Bridge. Witness1 stated that as the vessel was getting closer to the bridge he observed that the bridge was starting to close. According to Witness1, it did not seem as if Owner had enough time to turn the vessel to avoid coming into contact with the bridge. Witness1 stated that is was about a 15-20 M.P.H. prevailing wind that was blowing in the same direction Owner's vessel was heading. Witness1 observed the bridge close onto Owner's sailboat knocking the mast down and splintering it into three pieces. Witness1 stated that he went out and assisted Owner with mooring his sailboat on the mooring ball. 
  
  The second witness I interviewed keeps his sailboat at Annapolis City Marina located just above the Spa Creek Bridge. Witness2 stated that around 9:30 A.M. he witnessed the draw bridge close on Owner's sailboat after two other vessels had successfully transited underneath it. Witness2 believes that because of the 20-25 knot tailwinds, any attempt made by Owner to avoid hitting the bridge would have resulted in hull damage to Owner's vessel. Witness2 stated that after the bridge had closed on Owner's vessel the mast came falling down and splintered into pieces. Witness2 rendered assistance to Owner immediately following the incident and assisted him with mooring his vessel to a mooring ball. 
  
  The last person I interviewed the Bridge Tender Operator of the Spa Creek Bridge at the time of the incident. Tender stated that on the morning of 09/03/16 he received a call over VHF Channel 13 for a 9:30 A.M. bridge opening. Tender stated that there were two vessels scheduled for the opening; "Lodos" which is a sailing vessel and "Galeaway" which is a powerboat. Tender raised the Spa Creek Bridge at 9:29 A.M. where the sailing vessel "Lodos" was the first to pass underneath the bridge followed by the powerboat "Galeaway." After both vessels successfully transited underneath the bridge, Tender scanned both above and below the bridge and checked the video monitor to make sure no other vessels were trying to make their way under the bridge. 
  
  After Tender scanned the area and observed no other vessels and had not received any other requests from vessels wanting to pass under the bridge, he began lowering the bridge. As the bridge began its downward motion, Tender kept scanning the area making sure he did not observe any other vessels. After almost a minute had passed, Tender heard an odd sound which caused him to immediately stop the bridge from lowering. Tender observed pedestrians standing on the bridge, some of which were looking down, but no one said anything that indicated there was a problem. Tender then continued lowering the bridge and heard no more noises that would indicate there was a problem. After the bridge was completely lowered, Tender received a call over VHF channel 13 from Owner, who asked why the bridge was lowered.  Tender stated he had no idea what Owner was talking about and Owner again repeated the question of why was the bridge lowered. Tender then looked out the window and observed a sailboat with its wooden mast broken. Tender responded to Owner by saying he never received his request to pass underneath the bridge and that he was not made aware of Owner's presence near the bridge. Tender offered Owner the opportunity  to come talk to him in person but at the time of this report, Owner did not take Tender up on his offer. Tender wanted it to be known that it takes both spans of the bridge 45 seconds to reach the auto stop which is at the nearly closed position. After the bridge reaches the aforementioned position, Tender manually lowers the rest of the bridge, which takes about 15 seconds. During the course of the incident, Tender did not hear the mast of the sailboat make contact with the bridge until about 15 seconds after the auto stop had been completed. Tender made contact with his boss about the situation and advised there was no structural damage done to the bridge.  It should be noted that Tender keeps a daily log of the vessels that contact him for bridge openings. Tender showed me the log from 09/03/16 and I observed that there were only two vessels listed for a 9:30 A.M. bridge opening; the sailing vessel "Lodos" and the powerboat "Galeaway." I did not observe any scheduled bridge openings for Owner's vessel "Gannet."
  
    I then went to the Annapolis Harbormaster's Office to see if they had video surveillance of the accident. I observed three vessels in the video surveillance. The first vessel I observed was the sailing vessel "Lodos." The sailing vessel "Lodos" passed under the bridge coming from Spa Creek into downtown Annapolis. I then observed the powerboat "Galeaway." The vessel "Galeaway" passed under the bridge from downtown Annapolis to Spa Creek. I then observed Owner's vessel at a considerable distance away from the Spa Creek Bridge on the downtown Annapolis side. I then observed the bridge starting to lower while Owner's vessel was still at the same considerable distance away. Owner's vessel is observed heading straight towards the bridge spans while they are clearly lowering. According to the video surveillance, it appears Owner's vessel is at a far enough distance away that a reasonable and prudent boater would have had a sufficient amount of time to alter course and maneuver their vessel to avoid colliding with the bridge.
  