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- Thread starter BoatCrazy
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Don't hold your breath, just BS IMHO, Nassau County and Suffolk County are near bankruptcy. Also, even if that was not the case, where do they instantly get more boats and more cops?
Law enforcement on the water on LI has always been a joke and will continue to be so. How many times have we sighted dangerous activity and the law does nothing? Hey, but lets harass 50 year old men driving a jet ski!!!!!
Or better yet, lets harass a dude that has a 100k plus boat with his family!!!!!
Boating and enforcement of the law is as f-up as Obama being our president. Actually, boating is way worse !!!!
Just my 2C
Law enforcement on the water on LI has always been a joke and will continue to be so. How many times have we sighted dangerous activity and the law does nothing? Hey, but lets harass 50 year old men driving a jet ski!!!!!
Or better yet, lets harass a dude that has a 100k plus boat with his family!!!!!
Boating and enforcement of the law is as f-up as Obama being our president. Actually, boating is way worse !!!!
Just my 2C
A buddy of mine is a suffolk bay constable. He said last year they had to cut back on water patrol because of the price of fuel.
There are constable / police boats sitting at docks.
Somethings gotta give, a few drunks are going to ruin boating for everyone.
Im curious as to what other states do as far as their BWI patrol.
There are constable / police boats sitting at docks.
Somethings gotta give, a few drunks are going to ruin boating for everyone.
Im curious as to what other states do as far as their BWI patrol.
The sad reality is that the cops on duty in most cases are ok dudes, the same may be said for bay constables. Like any other industry, there are those who are dicks. IMHO, I would be quicker to blame the system than LEO. Imagine being a cop on the water and you have virtually no resources and everyone looks at you like you have a vacation job.
I will say though, in the 45 years I have been on the water on LI, mostly south shore, I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen the police on the water. I have seen 10 times more Aux Coast Guard and maybe 3 x more actual CG. We really have zero protection or enforcement on the water IMHO, I think the Newsday article Matt refers to said something about 400,000 boater on LI, most in suffolk county.
Here is a sad stat, I always see sea tow, wonder how many boat they have on the SS of LI.
Hey, are tax dollars at work and more importantly, WTF, our many millions boaters contribute to the economy means nothing !!!
I will say though, in the 45 years I have been on the water on LI, mostly south shore, I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen the police on the water. I have seen 10 times more Aux Coast Guard and maybe 3 x more actual CG. We really have zero protection or enforcement on the water IMHO, I think the Newsday article Matt refers to said something about 400,000 boater on LI, most in suffolk county.
Here is a sad stat, I always see sea tow, wonder how many boat they have on the SS of LI.
Hey, are tax dollars at work and more importantly, WTF, our many millions boaters contribute to the economy means nothing !!!
You bring up a good point. Whats to say they return to the dock???
A few years back a BWI accident occured, when the driver ran into an island and people were ejected from the boat...Cops at the dock wouldnt have helped that situation...
A few years back a BWI accident occured, when the driver ran into an island and people were ejected from the boat...Cops at the dock wouldnt have helped that situation...
Walter, you called it. Read the Newsday story, what they'll be doing is writing more expired flare tickets. There aren't enough of them that they are going to be out at 5am looking for drunks. It's not cost effective.
Where I spend many nights on the boat is an open marina near the State Channel. It's a long 5mph zone. Not infrequently someone in a large boat blows off the speed zone in the early morning, and seriously rocks all the boats at the dock. Does anyone catch those guys? Of course not. But they stop PWCs at high noon that don't even throw wakes.
Where I spend many nights on the boat is an open marina near the State Channel. It's a long 5mph zone. Not infrequently someone in a large boat blows off the speed zone in the early morning, and seriously rocks all the boats at the dock. Does anyone catch those guys? Of course not. But they stop PWCs at high noon that don't even throw wakes.
You all bring up good points. Everything today is about dollars and not whats best. A few things can be done from what I see to help prevent a boater getting onto his boat when he has been drinking.
There are a few night clubs on the water that allow docking. Get rid of the docking OR make it so they have to stay on the boat there till the sober up the next morning. A guy on my canal has a go fast boat and comes home at 3-4am on sunday throwing a huge wake and rocks the hell out of the boats, (have him on cam), and he goes to one of those clubs at night.
Why not have LAND cops at local dining places on the water, after all they are still on land. I do not know if its practical or not to go that route. But its a thought.
I dont think boaters and boating are being taken all that serious, and thats a big issue here. Again, anyone with money can go buy a boat and look they are now a "boater" Its way harder to operate a boat then to drive a car, yet to operate a boat, you dont even need a license.
I have several years of hands on training when it comes to operating a boat. Its not a cake walk to get your captians license, and then to find a job so you can use that license. I used to run a ferry to fire island. You start low man on the todem pole, and work up.
Boating is in my blood, and I know its in everyones here on BE as well. Its a great hobby (frustrating as hell at times), but I wouldnt have it any other way. Its getting scary to boat on the south shore of Long Island.
There are a few night clubs on the water that allow docking. Get rid of the docking OR make it so they have to stay on the boat there till the sober up the next morning. A guy on my canal has a go fast boat and comes home at 3-4am on sunday throwing a huge wake and rocks the hell out of the boats, (have him on cam), and he goes to one of those clubs at night.
Why not have LAND cops at local dining places on the water, after all they are still on land. I do not know if its practical or not to go that route. But its a thought.
I dont think boaters and boating are being taken all that serious, and thats a big issue here. Again, anyone with money can go buy a boat and look they are now a "boater" Its way harder to operate a boat then to drive a car, yet to operate a boat, you dont even need a license.
I have several years of hands on training when it comes to operating a boat. Its not a cake walk to get your captians license, and then to find a job so you can use that license. I used to run a ferry to fire island. You start low man on the todem pole, and work up.
Boating is in my blood, and I know its in everyones here on BE as well. Its a great hobby (frustrating as hell at times), but I wouldnt have it any other way. Its getting scary to boat on the south shore of Long Island.
I see a ton on Nassau bay constables in the massapqua area. Mostly going after jet skis....great and funny part one of them tried to chase the jetski into the flats near 4 corners, and all I you was a 40' high stream of mud in the air. Then I hear him and his buddy on the radio. Do they even know the area's the are cruising???
No money, yet I see the new Nassau Bay Constable boat all the time, the 30' boat that looks like the CG boats.
Problem with the clubs and bars I have found is that they DO NOT want you sleeping over. They want you there for 2-3hours, so the next person can come in, more turnover, more money.
No money, yet I see the new Nassau Bay Constable boat all the time, the 30' boat that looks like the CG boats.
Problem with the clubs and bars I have found is that they DO NOT want you sleeping over. They want you there for 2-3hours, so the next person can come in, more turnover, more money.
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I see a lot of USCG and I see the Nassau Police patrol boat often as well.
They don't bother the guys tied to the bridges or the buoys, they go after the PWCs. The only other enforcement I've seen are the DEC guys going after boats not following the fishing regs.
In Atlantic City, I've see police boats waiting outside Farley on a Saturday afternoon to check boats leaving the bar.
IMO, unless they are going to check boaters at the bar or right after they leave the dock, the only way they find a BWI is if they are doing something stupid and get stopped. Narrowing down who is BWI doing something stupid and just the usual dim wits doing something stupid would be tough.
One last thought, if you really want to crack down on BWI, place patrol boats in the state channel or right outside any area where fireworks will be on display this week. It would be easy pickings to nail the knuckleheads who have beered up all afternoon and are running with throttles at the stops in the dark.
They don't bother the guys tied to the bridges or the buoys, they go after the PWCs. The only other enforcement I've seen are the DEC guys going after boats not following the fishing regs.
In Atlantic City, I've see police boats waiting outside Farley on a Saturday afternoon to check boats leaving the bar.
IMO, unless they are going to check boaters at the bar or right after they leave the dock, the only way they find a BWI is if they are doing something stupid and get stopped. Narrowing down who is BWI doing something stupid and just the usual dim wits doing something stupid would be tough.
One last thought, if you really want to crack down on BWI, place patrol boats in the state channel or right outside any area where fireworks will be on display this week. It would be easy pickings to nail the knuckleheads who have beered up all afternoon and are running with throttles at the stops in the dark.
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Last weekend, I was down in Annapolis with our son-in-law to pick up his new boat. The marina's bar was hopping that Saturday night, with many boats, large and small, docking, staying and undocking. There were quite a few near-collisions seen as we ate dinner. The captain he had hired to bring the boat to New york later told us that the boaters were bar-hopping, a common oocurance there all the time. Where were the police then? It's no different here or elsewhere. On Great South Bay and Moriches Bay I've seen police boats, on average, a dozen times a season, not counting the officer sitting in a 16' boat at the begining of the no-wake-zone in Westhampton. I understand police can't be everywhere. What I don't understand is the contempt some boaters have for others that they can drink and then drive. It's the same arrogance we see with those who drive cars while "under the influence." If someone wants to get drunk - fine- that's his/her business. I may not like it, but that's their privilege. Just don't get behind the wheel of anything - boat or car. When caught, throw the book at him/her. Walter, come on. Stop throwing negatives at Obama every chance you can. That's just not right. He has nothing to do with the topic in discussion. Hy
Well in Southern NJ the State and USCG have already stepped up patrols every weekend. Their message "we intend to clear as many suspects operating while impared as possible". I'm at the dock tonight and tomorrow because I am waiting for FedX deliveries here at the marina and I need to catch up on design work. A friend of mine runs the NJSP boating unit out of Atlantic City and he tells me there is going to be a full court press all summer every weekend. Personally I wish they would clear the small fishing boats from the state channels and the ICW that think they have a right to impeded larger vessels safe navigation. They seem to ignore these boats and board larger boats for waking the skiffs that are sitting in the channel. It's annoying and dangerous in my opinion but I have yet to see any enforcement given to these small fishing boats.
Bill
Bill
My favorite was a "Bay Constable" that took off last weekend full bore in the mooring field for a distance of 2 or 3 hundred feet to chase an 8 ft dinghy with a 3 or 4 hp engine that was coming towards him! He left a wake that rocked us all over the place. we are talking 35 to 40 ft boats. Several people yelled at him to ask WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING! He came over to ask me if I had a problem and I asked why it was needed to leave a wake like that in a crowded mooring field. I kid you not his reply was "I am law enforcement, my wake is not your concern"
He has a reputation for doing this kind of thing.
He has a reputation for doing this kind of thing.
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Most of the time Bay Constables, Harbor Police, and Coast Guard are a God-send; but every once in a while one does something really stupid. The right thing would have been to admit the mistake and apologize. You know that if the situation were reversed and it was you creating the wake, an apology would not save you from a summons and a fine, as it should. Perhaps a call to headquarters is in order so this "gentleman" will learn to be aware of his actions. Hy
