People in the news.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

BACKSTREET BOY'S BOATING MISHAP

Nick Carter melts teens' hearts as a crooner with the Backstreet Boys. But it looks as though he could use a few pointers when it comes to cruising the seas.

Carter, 21, ran his luxury cabin cruiser aground near the Seven Mile Bridge in Marathon, Fla., on Tuesday _ and it was still stuck there Friday.

Carter, who owns a home in Marathon, was piloting the 45-foot SeaRay boat `N Control' from the Atlantic Ocean to Florida Bay when it struck a shallow seagrass bed on the bay side at the east end of the bridge, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Carter told authorities that he wasn't familiar with the area and went on the wrong side of the channel marker. He shut the boat's engine down immediately and was taken ashore.

His father, Bob Carter, attempted to assist salvors Thursday in motoring the vessel off the flat, but they were advised by marine authorities to wait for a higher tide in order to prevent further damage to the seagrass, which already had sustained minimal injury, said commission spokesman Steve Acton.

Marine biologists from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary will assess the area to determine what civil fines Carter, who could not be reached for comment, will face for the grounding.