The driver of a boat that crashed hard into a rocky shoal near Ambleside Beach on Friday night has been issued a ticket for operating a vessel without proper care and attention.
Police and Coast Guard were called out shortly before 9 p.m. Aug. 26 after multiple witnesses called 911 to report a small pleasure boat had crashed into rocks near the shore.
“From witness accounts it appears they would have hit the ground at a pretty good clip,” said Const. Jeff Palmer, spokesman for the West Vancouver Police Department. “Perhaps they didn’t know or didn’t appreciate how shallow the water was at that point. It appears they misjudged the water depth.”
Palmer said the small boat with several passengers aboard hit a rocky shoal and ran aground near the mouth of the Capilano River. Fortunately nobody was injured, he said. The vessel, however, sustained extensive damage to its hull, propeller and other mechanical parts. It was towed to a nearby marina.
Those on board were helped off the vessel by the marine unit of the Vancouver Police Department and the Coast Guard.
The driver of the boat, a 37-year-old West Vancouver man, was issued a federal contravention ticket for operating the boat in a careless manner.
