Local police gear up marine patrols with boating season in full swing

On June 13, Groton Town police officers were performing a routine patrol in their 27-foot boat Marine One, when they responded to a distress call from a sailboat in the area of Fishers Island Sound.

The 30-foot sailboat had lost the rigging supporting its sail, leaving it adrift and in a precarious position of possibly striking rocks when it reached shore. Police boarded the boat, helped secure the sail and left the couple to continue on to Fishers Island.

Groton Town Police Deputy Chief Paul Gately said the incident was a good example of why Groton and other police departments along the shoreline maintain marine patrols.

“This town is surrounded by water. We’re out there patrolling because we want to provide a safe environment out on the water,” Gately said.

Officers from Groton and surrounding departments plan to be a visible presence out on the water this week when they team up with state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s environmental conservation police and the U.S. Coast Guard for a holiday initiative aimed at raising awareness about laws against boating under the influence.

Operation Dry Water runs from July 4 to 6 to coincide with the Fourth of July, a holiday known for drinking and boating. In Connecticut, the laws for boating mirror its motor vehicles law. People are considered to be operating under the influence if their blood alcohol level is .08 or above.

There were 89,699 registered vessels in Connecticut in 2023 and six reported fatalities among 35 accidents reported to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Four of those deaths were by drowning.

Nationwide, there were 3,844 accidents with 564 deaths and 2,126 injuries associated with recreational boating accidents, the U.S. Coast Guard reports.

The numbers are down from 2022 both in the state and nationally, and from the spike of boating accidents and fatalities during the COVID-19 pandemic, but statistics show the causes for accidents remain consistent.

Where a cause of a death is known, 75% of fatal boating accident victims drowned. In 87% of those fatalities, the victim was not wearing a life jacket. In four out of five cases, the people who drowned were in vessels less than 21 feet long.

Alcohol is a leading contributing factor in fatal boating accidents. The U.S. Coast Guard statistics show alcohol was involved in 17% of deaths.

Investigators said alcohol was a factor in a fatal boating accident in Stonington in 2022 when, according to authorities, a 22-foot center console, whose operator was legally drunk and traveling 35 mph, struck the west side of the inner Stonington breakwater.

State investigators have concluded the boat operator was legally drunk.

About 75% of deaths nationally occur on boats where the operator did not receive boating safety instruction.

Waterford Police Sgt. Michael Firmin, a Coast Guard reservist, supervises the department’s marine patrol. Firmin said federal funds helped equip local police in fire departments with assets to be able to get on the water. There remains good coordination, he said, among the various agencies when it comes to major incidents, such as search and rescue operations.

And while Coast Guard Station New London typically takes the lead on any search and rescue operations, it is often the police departments that get the first call for help, he said.

Waterford shares a boat with the East Lyme Police Department. The departments handle a variety of calls, from boaters in distress to complaints about inexperienced or belligerent boaters running a vessel too fast through a no-wake zone and rocking the docked boats in what is supposed to be a protected area.

“Over the last few years we’ve seen an uptick in new boaters and some of the common courtesies have gone away,” Firmin said. “Our primary mission is really having that presence. If we see someone not wearing life jackets, we’ll stop them and have a conversation.”

Stonington Police Capt. Bryan Schneider said providing information to boaters is key to maintaining a safe boating environment.

“We’re looking for flagrant violations primarily, obvious violations of the law, but it’s more educational on a lot of the stops. We’ll tell someone the weather you’re about to head out in is not conducive to the size of the boat you’re in,” Schneider said.

Groton Town uses their boat to patrol an area that spans from the Thames River to Fishers Island Sound, Rhode Island and beyond as the need arises. They work cooperatively with a host of other local, state and federal agencies prepared to respond to hazards on the water ― everything from a capsized kayak to a search for a missing swimmer.

It’s the reason why Gately said the patrols are often out performing checks and trying to get the word out to boaters.

“We’re not looking to negatively impact somebody’s boating experience. We’re trying to enhance it by ensuring everyone is safe,” Gately said. “We’re also assisting marine traffic, enforcing maritime law to keep boaters safe and we’re addressing complaints. There are rules and regulations with respect to that. Those rules are meant to ensure everyone's safety.”

g.smith@theday.com