NORTHAMPTON — Over the weekend, state officials and local law enforcement teamed up to patrol boating activity on the Connecticut River amid an alleged increase in dangerous activities and safety violations.
Several complaints about activities on the water prompted local police to ramp up enforcement, said Hadley Police Officer Michael Romano.
“This has been an issue unresolved for a while now and I think it’s a positive thing we’re forming a task force and doing something about it,” Romano said. “It was just a lot of complaints that were going unresolved.”
Officers from Northampton, Easthampton, Hadley and South Hadley partnered with the Massachusetts Environmental Police, state Department of Conservation and Recreation, and U.S. Coast Guard to form a joint task force dedicated to the issue. They visited local marinas, including the Oxbow Marina in Northampton, the Sportsman’s Marina and Mitch’s Marina in Hadley, and Brunelle’s Marina in South Hadley, to monitor compliance with boating laws.
“On the water, the groups will work in a collaborative fashion to enforce boating and watercraft violations, ensure the legal and safe operation of watercraft, and prevent trespassing and littering on islands and beaches along the Connecticut River,” read a joint press release. “On land, the Task Force will enforce parking rules and regulations, and deter general criminal activity.”
A security guard for the Oxbow Marina, Chris Scott, said that the marina was “flooded” with law enforcement boats on Saturday as boaters left for a weekend on the river. They stopped vessels at random to check boat registrations, the sobriety of the operator, and whether the vessel had the proper safety gear. On land, officers were making sure waste was properly disposed of and boaters were sober to drive home.
Police stopped some patrons from launching jet skis, which are not allowed in the Oxbow or any water bodies smaller than 75 acres, at the marina on Saturday, too, Scott said. Jet skis are allowed on the river, but must launch from elsewhere.
“There have been problems like this here before but they always resolve themselves,” said Mario Seguin, who has been boating on the Connecticut River since 1990. “People are reckless, especially now with the jet skis.”
Environmental Police and Coast Guard members traveled up and down the river looking for safety violations, and made an effort to stop people from camping on Mitch’s Island, Scott said. About 10 years ago, police tore down a ramshackle “tent city” by Mitch’s Island, which was a site for litter, drinking and disorderly conduct.
“It’s nice the police show up and try to enforce things,” Seguin said.
Part of the campaign, Romano said, was to increase the visibility and awareness of law enforcement on the water. Resources for the Environmental Police are strained, he said, and this is an effort to bolster enforcement.
“They’re doing what they can with what they have right now,” Romano said. “They’re a small agency.”
Seguin said he took a boating safety course through the Coast Guard years ago and found the information invaluable for himself, his friends’ and family’s safety on the water. Inexperienced boaters can buy a vessel on Craigslist, he said, and operate on the water without knowing proper steering techniques or which side of the river to travel on. Massachusetts is one of a few states in the country that does not require a license to operate a water vessel, which he said is part of the problem.
Scott pointed out an old Environmental Police boat used yesterday docked in the marina was once used to to chase drug smugglers on the water.
“That (type of) boat used to have a machine gun on top of it,” Scott said.
Sarah Robertson can be reached at srobertson@gazettenet.com.