The state water patrol has some extra muscle for this Fourth of July week. The Coast Guard has dropped in, as it does from time to time during busy periods on the water. With the holiday in the middle of the week, authorities are expecting the entire week to be busy.
State Water Patrol spokesman Nick Humphrey says the Coast Guard can do some things a little differently from the things the Water Patrol can do. He sas the Coast Guard can board a vessel without probable cause. The coast guard boat crew usually numbers five or six…and sometimes includes a dog….
Humphrey expects the heaviest Coast Guard presence to be in the Party Cove because that’s where the heaviest concentration of boaters is. Authorities say they expect to crack down on some of the more blatant behavior that happens there.
Humphrey says a mid-week holiday usually means a couple of big weekends on each side…with increased boating traffic throughout the week. That stretches the Water Patrol thin—another reason the presence of the Coast Guard is welcome.
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