I'm sure the investigation has the height measured exactly. There's no better way to determine terminal velocity than that.
The amount of hull out of the water at collision can be easily measured based on the widest scuff marks on the ledge. Just compare that measurement to the widest comparable damage on the hull. A comparison-speed with the same amount of hull out of the water with an identical Formula performance cruiser can determine the speed when striking the island.
The depth of the ledge below the waterline is immaterial.
The 5 foot guess, posted earlier, was retracted by the author.
For comparison, this cruiser collision appeared at Boat-Ed.com., having struck a berm. There were no injuries in this collision.
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