[kellyhound]

A Hobe Sound man has been charged with boating under the influence after he lost control of a boat Friday evening, sending it airborne and causing property damage when it landed, according to law enforcement officials.

Matthew George, 47, of the 8000 block of Southeast Asaro Street in Hobe Sound was arrested on charges of BUI and violation of the Florida administrative code related to catching an undersized cobia fish.

Martin County Sheriff's Office deputies said they were called around 7 p.m. Friday about an unmanned, out-of-control boat just south of the Stuart Causeway.

When deputies arrived, they said they found George and two other men had fallen off the 24-foot boat. The men told deputies prior to falling off the boat, they were taking photos.

A sheriff's helicopter followed the boat and video taped it as it continued at a high rate of speed, hitting a concrete dock near the 1500 block of St. Lucie Boulevard. The boat then went airborne and hit a second dock before stopping.

According to an eight page arrest report from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, George was the driver of the boat and unsteady on his feet and had glassy, watery and bloodshot eyes. Officers said they could smell alcohol on George's breath.

Officers said they tested George's breath twice and he had blood-alcohol levels of 0.129 and 0.132, which are greater than the 0.08 legal limit.

FWC officials also said they had George do a standardized sobriety test and George showed multiple clues that he was impaired.

According to the arrest affidavit, one of the other two men who fell off the boat had a leg injury from the incident. George and the other person involved in the incident were not harmed.

FWC officials said the boat was towed following the incident, and the agency is investigating the incident.

George was taken to the Martin County Jail and was later released on $750 bail.

According to the Martin County Clerk of Court's office, in July, George got a citation for a vessel at risk of being a derelict and had to pay a $90 fee.

[William May]

Hopefully it destroyed his $8000 outboard, and he will have to save for a while to get the boat back in the water. Lucky no one on a sailboard was hit and killed.

[kbt3168]

It’s trashed for sure.