FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – Memorial Day weekend is always one of the busiest on Central Florida’s coast for beachgoers and boaters.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office used the holiday weekend crowd to unveil a new addition to its marine unit. News 6 rode along with deputies in the new boat who explained it will help them get better access to different crimes on the water.
“It’s the beginning of the summer. It’s the big summer blast,” said Deputy Jeffrey Turner.
With it being the “unofficial start” to summer, deputies Turner and Steven Williams said this weekend is when traffic on the water ramps up.
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They said the weekend is typically filled with safety checks and giving warnings or citations on many common violations, especially for those newer to boating in the area.
“During the holiday, it’s probably the manatee zones violations. The manatee zones in this county run from May 1 through September 7,” Turner said.
This year, the deputies were about to use their new Tidewater patrol boat to access areas they couldn’t easily get to before.
“The reason we purchased this boat was to get under some of the lower hanging bridges and get into some of the shallower canals,” said Turner. “In the shallows, you may have people fishing back there with illegal fish. You get young teenagers back there drinking because they would go back to where they don’t think we can get back into. Now we can with this boat.”
With more homes being developed in the area around the water, Williams said the new boat also helps because it’s not as visible.
“With a smaller boat like this, it’s almost like a road patrol. We can control the backyard and people’s houses looking for things like house break-ins from the back side,” he said.
The sheriff’s office said the boat was purchased using a Florida Inland Navigation District grant.
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