Trouble Comes in Waves

It was a quiet afternoon on the water when the emergency call came in.

The operator of a 44-foot cabin cruiser was violently ill and unable to navigate his craft, which was heading toward the rocks inside Channel Islands Harbor.

Ventura County Harbor Patrol Officers Dusty Frechette and Troy Kuhlman raced to the scene in a powerboat, sirens blaring. Frechette boarded the vessel, brought it under control and treated the man while Kuhlman diverted other boat traffic. Frechette then steered the cruiser to the docks, where paramedics waited to whisk the man to a hospital.

“That’s pretty typical of our job. You always have to be ready to just go,” said Frechette, 27. “Ten percent is adrenaline. Any minute you can get a call about a boat sinking or going up on the rocks.

“Your heart definitely races,” he added. “You’re just sitting there doing your everyday routine and the next thing you know, you’re going out and saving a life, putting yourself in danger as well. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s exciting.”

The nine unarmed officers who patrol Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard have come to expect the unexpected.

Much of their job is commonplace as they patrol in 22-foot boats, ensuring children wear life jackets, jet-skiers stay away from swimmers and boaters travel at a safe speed.

Often breaking the routine are the emergencies: a fire, a sinking boat, a boater in medical distress. Frechette once found himself corralling seven unmanned vessels after pranksters untied them from the docks, sending them adrift one night.

Harbor patrol officers require skills in several areas because anything can happen at sea.

Officers Learn Several Skills

“They’re a combination of fire, rescue and police--a little bit of each,” said Lyn Krieger, director of the Ventura County Harbor Department, which oversees the Channel Islands Harbor Patrol. “If you were in your sailboat and you got caught on a wave and you needed help not to capsize--you would want an aquatic safety officer to bring you in, someone who knows your boat.”

Channel Islands Harbor is the largest recreational harbor in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties--encompassing 316 acres of land and sea. There are 2,800 boats docked there year-round, and 800 vessels docked at adjacent Mandalay Bay, which feeds into the harbor. Officials estimate nearly 15,000 additional boats are launched into the harbor each year.

County officers are responsible for patrolling the harbor, its nine marinas and two nautical miles along Hollywood and Silver Strand beaches, which are owned and operated by Ventura County. Their regular patrol also includes half a mile out to sea.

Each officer is an emergency medical technician qualified to use a defibrillator. They are also licensed Coast Guard boat operators.

At least two officers are on duty 24 hours a day. The officers work eight-hour shifts and rotate among morning, day and night shifts every two months. They earn between $32,407 and $47,245 annually. When not on patrol, officers have either administrative duties or maintain the department’s four powerboats.

Because they are not sworn officers, their law enforcement responsibilities are limited. However, they do write citations and make arrests for certain infractions, such as reckless operation and boating under the influence. Once brought to shore, a suspect is turned over to Oxnard police or the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

Harbor Patrol officers prefer to educate the public and focus on safety rather than write tickets, saying most boaters simply aren’t aware of the harbor rules until they are pulled over for a reprimand.

One recent afternoon was typical of most harbor patrols for Kuhlman and Frechette. They signaled boaters to slow down, checked on suspicious fumes spewing from a docked vessel and ordered two girls in a motorized inflatable raft to turn back and carry life vests--as required by law.

Then there was the operator of a 35-foot boat who dropped anchor in the middle of the channel, creating a hazard for other boaters. Kuhlman asked the man to move closer to the breakwater. The man complied.

“Most people are like, ‘I didn’t know that [about the rules],’ ” said Kuhlman, 39. “We tell them. It makes sense to them. They learn from it and move on.”

Harbor resident and visitors are generally grateful the patrol officers are there, especially with so many beginning sailors on the water.

“I’ve seen people buy a new sailboat and don’t know compass readings,” said Mark James, 42, who lives on a sailboat in the harbor. The officers are “definitely here for the safety of the populace.”