A Needham teen was arrested following an overnight incident in which he and a friend were thrown from their boat after colliding with another boat off the Eastville section of Oak Bluffs.
Noah Jick, 18, was arraigned in Edgartown district court Monday morning on charges of operating a boat under the influence of alcohol, unsafe operation of a motor boat, underage possession of alcohol and four separate charges of leaving the scene of an accident with property damage.
At about 3:10 a.m. Oak Bluffs police responded to a report of a boat aground off Temahigan avenue, nearly a mile across the harbor from the area where the boats were damaged. When they arrived, they found the 26-foot center-console boat with a 150-horsepower outboard motor, out of the water, wedged between a dock and a rock groin.
According to police, Mr. Jick and a friend were thrown into the water by the force of the first impact with another vessel, and were able to haul themselves aboard another moored boat. They were transported ashore by the U.S. Coast Guard, where Mr. Jick was arrested by Tisbury police.
Vineyard Haven harbor master John Crocker said a 911 call came in shortly after 3 a.m. reporting an unmanned vessel circling in the outer harbor. Mr. Crocker responded in the town patrol boat along with assistant harbor master Jim Pepper and EMS medics.
The unmanned vessel struck three boats a short distance from shore, the harbor master said. According to Mr. Crocker, one of the damaged boats was struck twice. There were four people on board the boat, a 62-foot sailboat at anchor; one sustained a hand injury, but declined treatment from EMS, according to Mr. Crocker.
In the second collision, the force of the impact caused the bow of the motor vessel to come out of the water and damage stanchions on the sailing vessel’s deck, the harbor master said.
“The second time it hit him, the gentleman said the boat was going at about three-quarters throttle, and just T-boned him,” Mr. Crocker said. “The sailboat sustained some damage, but not as much as you might think.”
According to Coast Guard records, the sailboat is owned by Steven Boutin, with a home port in Oyster Bay, N.Y.
Mr. Crocker said the unmanned boat also hit a Benetau 26 sailboat on a mooring, leaving a four to five-inch hole on the starboard side.
A third sailboat moored in the outer harbor, owned by Vineyard Haven resident Stephen Besse, was struck and sustained slight damage, he said.
In court Monday, the prosecutor said authorities tested Mr. Jick for alcohol, and determined his blood alcohol level to be .02 per cent, the threshold for a charge of a minor operating a boat under the influence of alcohol. Bail was set at $500, and the defendant was ordered to remain alcohol-free until he returns for a pretrial conference, set for Sept. 16.
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