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07/12/2016 12:00 AMThe Old Saybrook Police Department launched the new Marine 1 police boat into the Connecticut River with a July 1 ceremony, just in time to resume patrols for a busy holiday weekend that included a rescue of five boaters from a sinking vessel.
During the first marine patrol weekend of July 2 to 4, the officer on duty issued five infractions for wake violations, six written warnings (for violations like failure to carry a safe boating certificate or having enough life jackets on board), and completed one boat rescue. A boat with five people ranging in age from 7 to 61 years was taking on water and with fear that the boat was sinking, the passengers were brought aboard the police boat to safety. The sinking boat was towed back to shore.
A Ceremonious Launch
At the end of a July 1 ceremony, Patrolman Brianna Santello broke a champagne bottle on the boat’s hull to christen it before the craft was released into the river under an arc of town fireboat spray.
In another marine tradition, a tree branch was draped over the boat’s bow as a promise that the boat will return safely with its crew to the land. And as the boat slipped off its trailer and into the water, those present recited together the phrase, “To the sea, to the sailors before us: Fair winds and following seas,” to wish the boat and its crew well on this and future journeys.
At the helm for this first marine patrol was Master Sergeant Jay Rankin.
Sergeants Jeff DePerry and Ryan Walsh, both of whom served on the police boat committee and coordinated the outfitting the new Marine Patrol boat, a surplus Coast Guard craft, opened the event.
“We’re glad to be back on the water,” said Walsh.
First Selectman Carl Fortuna, Jr., and Police Chief Michael Spera both then also offered comments to mark the milestone.
“The first person I want to thank is the chief. It has been a long road. This has been a tortured path to get here, but this is the boat that the residents wanted. [Marine Patrol] is a necessary function. It’s really, really important for the Police Department to be out on the water,” said Fortuna.
Spera expressed his gratitude to a long list of people that helped to make the launch of this new vessel a reality.
“Most importantly, I want to thank the taxpayers. We appreciate their support,” said Spera. “We have an obligation to protect our citizens on the land the water. I am relieved they will [once again] receive marine patrol services this year.”
With the department’s old police boat declared not seaworthy last summer, the Town’s Police Department had to suspend marine patrols. The initial option for a boat replacement, the proposal to spend $90,392 of town funds as a match to a $271,177 federal Port Security grant awarded to buy a new boat failed to win town voter approval in a February 2015 referendum, but a second proposal, to spend $74,568 to buy a 25-foot long surplus Coast Guard Safe Boat, won town board support at a March 8, 2016 Town Meeting. With everyone focused on getting the boat on the water by July 1, the start of the new fiscal year, Marine Patrol successfully began operations on the holiday weekend.
Spera said the department will conduct marine patrols on summer weekends and on some weekdays, as weather and the budget permits. On the boat during each patrol will be one civilian handler and one police officer.
Spera said that as the new police boat plied the waters that weekend, lots of people stood on their docks and clapped and cheered in a show of support for the renewed patrols. At the Saybrook Point Inn and Spa’s marina, proprietor Steve Tagliatela displayed a custom banner he had made to honor the moment “Make the River Great Again. Welcome Back Old Saybrook Marine Patrol.”
Spera said that members of the boating community were ecstatic that the department’s Marine Patrol had returned to the water. With no police on the waters to patrol wake speed violations last summer, there were more boaters who chose to ignore posted wake restrictions. As a result, private property and marine craft sustained damages.