SEATTLE -- Passengers on a sailboat tour in Puget Sound said a motorboat smashed into them at full speed, the boat's owner said.

The Coast Guard is investigating the collision between a Bayliner Trophy and the 42-foot sailboat that occurred a mile north of Alki Point in Elliott Bay at 3:09 p.m. on Monday.

Three people suffered minor injuries.

The Coast Guard disentangled the boats, exposing a deep gash in the port side of the sailboat's hull.

One injured passenger was helped off the sailboat. She and the power boat owner were taken by private ambulance to the hospital after arriving in West Seattle with the Seattle Police Department's Harbor Patrol.

The sailboat, Neptune's Car, is a passenger tour boat that operates out of Pier 54 on Seattle's waterfront with the company Let's Go Sailing.

Paul LaMarche, the owner of the tour company, said the passengers watched as the power boat plowed into them.

"They told me this guy came out of nowhere and smashed into them going wide open in his power boat. The rumor I heard from the passengers is that he didn't even let up the throttle when he hit the boat," said LaMarche.

There were 15 passengers and two crew members on board the tour boat for a 2.5 hour excursion when the collision occurred.

The sailboat owner said that in 24 years, his company has never had an accident.

LaMarche said that although the crash caused a huge financial blow to his company, he won't seek recourse from the power boat owner.

"We don't care about recourse. We care about our boat's hole and the people that are injured," said LaMarche.