The Watercraft Journal received a very interesting report from East Coast Watercross’ Christopher Yates who wrote the following: “At the time of our opening rounds of racing in June 2016, and our marine permit being approved by the local Sheriff’s Department, we were made aware that due to budget cuts they had no on-water presence for us, and while they granted our permit, they had no boats or watercraft to patrol the area (only in case of a emergency would they be able to be on site).
“A few weeks later this department, the Fulton County NY Sheriff’s Department, had unexpectedly received funding for a marine patrol unit to get back out and be able to patrol the 44 lakes in their county (the first time in over a decade). With this great news, also came the use of the NYS Parks & Recreation’s Kawasaki PWC.
“Shortly after this news, an unfortunate drowning victim was their first call to action. While a knowledgeable group on their Chris Craft Patrol Vessel, many of the Marine Patrol Unit had very little or no PWC experience beyond their initial brief training, deeming the PWC somewhat ineffective in an emergency. Several of our local racers are Law Enforcement in the area and word traveled fast that the department could use some further PWC training.
“East Coast Watercross quickly coordinated with Sheriff Richard Giardino to organize a group of volunteers to assist the Marine Patrol and get their entire unit up to speed, and quick. East Coast Watercross brought in a team of experienced PWC experts including Kevin O’Flaherty, a US Power Squadron member. O’Flaherty has been a PWC Safety Consultant for over a decade and was able to provide US Coast Guard BARD (Boating Accident Report Database) statistics in the classroom as well as real world knowledge to the Marine Patrol Unit. In addition, Matt Adalain and Jim Dwyer attended the session to cover the mechanical aspects of watercraft.
“The class was held at the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department and on the Sacandaga where the Marine Patrol Officers were able to ride and experience not only the department’s machines, but several different types of watercraft bought by East Coast Watercross for a broader knowledge of the different types of, handling characteristics and safety features of the many machines they may encounter on the lake. This intensive training session lasted over 4 hours and left all involved feeling more prepared when the next on water emergency occurs.
“The best part of this training was not only did the Sheriffs get more on-water training on their own patrol units, they also jumped on board a few of the PWC that East Coast Watercross provided, from runabouts, to Sport class PWC and even standups. We are proud to partner with any first responder organization that needs help on the water. If you know of anyone that could benefit form this kind of volunteer training please contact us at info@eastcoastwatercross.com.”
Wow. This is in stark contrast to the lake I usually ride (Lake Austin in the Austin,TX area) where one Saturday I counted five city police department boats and some of those had two officers. This lake is 11 miles long and averages about 200 yards wide. It’s over-enforced and the police are just itching to hand out violations for minor infractions sometimes.