On May 30th, 2023 at approximately 1616 hours I was conducting routine underway patrol of the Delaware River when myself and Cpl. 2 noticed a vessel that had struck the underwater rock jetty just north of Pea Patch Island.  The vessel was facing north east and sitting diagonal over top the submerged jetty.  

Myself and Cpl. 2 made contact with the operator of the vessel, who advised he was uninjured.  The vessel was actively taking on water at the time of our arrival.  When questioned, the Operator advised that he was heading south in the channel, along the New Jersey side of the submerged jetty.  He advised that he had decided that he would attempt to leave the channel to cross over to the Delaware side of the jetty.  Operator advised that he was paying attention soley to his navigation charts that did not show anything resembling a submerged jetty in the area.  He advised that he did not see the nearest danger mark that warned of the presence of a submerged object in the area.  When he crossed the area he felt a large bump and a sudden loss of power.  His vessel came to rest on top of the submerged jetty, and with the incoming tide, his vessel shifted into the position that we found him in upon our arrival.  

Delaware City Fire Company responded and was able to successfully tow Operator off of the jetty and back to the Delaware City Marina.  Operator's vessel was put on the lift and stored in the marina dry dock until he was able to get the trailer there to tow the vessel back to Pennsylvania.

Upon further investigation, Operator had seperated his lower unit from the vessel and damaged the propeller and skeg.  It is beleived that the separation of the lower unit from the vessel  is what caused the water inside the vessel.
Delaware River
Delaware City                 