I, Officer, of Maryland’s Natural Resources Police assigned to Area 1 in Worcester County Maryland, was underway on vessel NRP 155 with OFC when we were dispatched to a vessel accident in the Isle of Wight Bay near Herring Creek in Ocean City Maryland on August 23, 2023. The accident was not witnessed, but a PWC guide for Paradise Watersports noticed significant damage to one of the PWC’s hulls.

Upon arrival at Paradise Watersports in West Ocean City, the individuals who rented the PWCs involved in the accident left the scene without leaving any of their payment information. The PWC guide who noticed the damage to the PWC bearing Maryland registration, stated that he had to speak to three riders who were in the final rental group of the day several times for violating the speed and distance requirements while the PWC was underway over 6 mph. 

He witnessed the same individuals violating the rules a third time and he noticed a large crack in one of the rental PWC’s hull below the water line. The guide immediately terminated these individuals' voyage and led them back to the rental agency’s pier for their safety. When they arrived at the pier the involved renters were described as disrespectful, disorderly, and left despite requests from the rental agency staff to provide payment information. It should be noted that the PWC is incorrectly marked, but the registration sticker and HIN numbers match. 

Operator1 states that he and his friends rented PWCs on the final rental trip of the night on 8/23/23. He was instructed by the rental guides to board vessel G bearing MD Registration. Operator1 stated that as he was boarding the PWC, “someone else was still on there trying to get off.” Neither the rental staff nor Operator1 conducted a pre-ride inspection of the PWC.  Operator1 denies ever making contact with anyone or anything while he was underway. He states that his PWC “ran out of gas and the gas light sign kept coming up and beeping.” A rental guide came over to him noticed the crack in the hull and terminated his voyage. Upon their return to the pier, Operator1 was accused of causing damage to the ski, but no one witnessed any type of accident. Operator1 states rental staff were argumentative and “racist” towards him so he left as they refused to “call a manager or the police.” Operator1 and other members of his party waited nearly “40 minutes” for police to arrive before they left the scene. He provided photos of him riding the PWC with time stamps. The crack is visible in his photos but he again denies any impact or collision.

Due to conflicting information between parties, a lack of witnesses, and no pre-ride inspection being completed, no charges will be filed for the rider. Information and photographs were collected for an accident report.

All events occurred in Worcester County Maryland.

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