RedactedNarrative: On 05/28/2018, a white open motorboat 19 feet in length, struck Channel Marker Red 20 located in Crystal River Florida, just east of the Fort Island Park Boat Ramp. The operator and two occupants were uninjured, but damaged occurred to the vessel and channel marker. The damage to the vessel was estimated to be $7000.00, and the damage to the channel marker including replacement was estimated $2500.00.
  
  I met with the complainant who was also the operator of the vessel. He explained to me that he had been operating his vessel (FL1679MW) east bound in Crystal River with two occupants. He explained that he began to throttle his vessel up to head towards Kings Bay in Crystal River. He explained that his visibility was impaired from heavy rain conditions and his bow “pointing up”. He explained that as he was throttling his vessel up, he observed that he was closing in on a channel marker. He explained that he attempted to maneuver his vessel to the left to avoid hitting the marker, but still made contact with it on his starboard side of his vessel. After hitting the marker, He explained that he was unsure of the extent of the damage to the vessel, so he returned to the dock at Fort Island Ramp