SANTA BARBARA , Calif. (KEYT) - The arrival of the first big holiday weekend of the sunny season, combined with summertime ahead will keep the Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol on a higher alert status.
Already the officers have full days with more than 1,100 vessels in the harbor combined with all the recreational use.
Harbor Patrol Officer Taylor Plasch was keeping a close eye on the vessels Tuesday morning and said, "we're looking at everything, we are looking at the boats in the slips and the people in the harbor."
For Memorial Day weekend, and the next several months, "we are going to have a lot more boats out here. Kayaks, standup paddle boats, swimmers from west beach – but most of what we are looking for are people operating their boats in an unsafe manner."
She also says there will be no swimming from the sand spit across to west beach.
May 16th marked the start of Safe Boating Week and a higher level of contact could be taking place between those on the water and the harbor patrol officers.
Just like driving a car, every person that operates a boat has to have their California boater card.
Plasch explained, "say we stop someone who is going fast in the harbor, we will ask to see their boater card and if they don't have it they will get a citation for that or just advise them see that or get that done."
One of the more common contacts the Harbor Patrol makes with paddle boarders or kayakers is to make sure everyone has a life jacket ether around their waste or right in front of them.
One group went by on paddle boards and Harbor Patrol Officer, Alex Szymczak, pointed out that they all had life vests either on their board or "I think that one individual in the front has a hip pack."
There is also a loaner station at the boat ramp for adult and children life vests which has helped to reduced the safety issues.
This time of year, new or seasonal boaters can find themselves in a bad situation.
Szymczak had a hand held portable radio and said, "sometime you don't want to bring your phone out, into the water and in case of an emergency you are able to contact the appropriate resources if anything were to happen."
And weather this week has been challenging for some boaters. "It comes in waves. We've had quite a bit of wind coming up our way and with that we have boaters that are unprepared for that weather event."
If someone is stopped for boating under the influence, Plasch says, "we might tow them back and then we would get the police department to come and do field sobriety test if we choose to go that route."
In addition to holidays, weekends are like rush hour on a freeway.
"A lot of people coming out of their slips in the harbor, a lot of people launching from our launch ramps, and then human power crafts coming coming out of everywhere."
But she says they want to make sure everyone on the water is having a safe and enjoyable time. "It is great to see all the people utilizing the harbor and waterfront it is really fun."
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