Kent Treptow/The Olympian
Skipper Lynn Lovegren of the Olympia Harbor Patrol waves to a boater in Budd Inlet on Saturday. Although maintaining good public relations is an important mission, the primary concern of Lovegren's crew is marine safety.

Harbor patrol volunteers help keep the water safe for boaters

JOHN GRABER, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published August 7

OLYMPIA -- It's about 10:30 Saturday morning and Scott Watkins has just docked his sailboat at the Swantown Marina.

Watkins is from Beaverton, Ore., and wants to know if he needs a license to fish in South Sound. He is in luck. The Olympia Police Harbor Patrol boat is in the marina.

"I told him he shouldn't fish or crab in the area because of the red tide," said Lynn Lovegren, patrol skipper.

A red tide means a particular type of algae is growing in the area that makes some seafood toxic.

Lovegren is just one of 28 volunteers who make up the Olympia Police Harbor Patrol.

"We're the only all-volunteer harbor patrol in South Sound, all the way north to Seattle," Lovegren said. "All of the others are made up of commissioned officers."

The men and women of the patrol cruise the sound inside city limits looking for people breaking the law or in need of help. They also provide a link between the community and the police department. They always seem to have just enough time to look at the fish a child just caught off the pier.

"Our secondary mission is public relations," Lovegren said. "To make sure people know the harbor is safe."

But it's not all feel-good stuff. Lovegren is commissioned as an officer on the water. He is authorized to arrest people or cite boaters for not following the laws. Infractions can include anything from not wearing a life preserver to drinking alcohol while operating a boat. A new computer on the patrol boat allows crews to check the registration of any vessel within city limits.

The group often helps troubled boaters who have hit a sand bar or tipped over. They are even equipped with dry suits and snorkels if they have to get in the water to help someone. If scuba gear is needed, the Coast Guard is called in.

The members of the patrol team are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They put in about 5,000 hours a year and save the police department about $500,000 in maintenance to the boat and time that would otherwise have to be left for paid officers, Lovegren said.

Their vessel is a 25-foot Alamar aluminum boat, equipped with everything from lights and sirens to a fire fighting water pump. Its 380-horsepower engine can move the craft at about 35 knots.

Each volunteer has a number of different reasons for signing up.

"It gives me a chance to give something back to the community," said crewmember Mike Lacey.

James Daily works as a security officer at Providence St. Peter Hospital and thought the work would be a good way to make a connection between the police and the hospital. He likes the excitement too.

"Your adrenaline gets going when you're in hot pursuit of someone breaking the speed limit," Daily said. "It's kind of like 'Miami Vice.' "

But the volunteers will all tell you it's the chance to be out on the water that drew them to the patrol.

"I'm getting my boating fix and they're paying for it," Lovegren said.

Members come from all different backgrounds. Lovegren is a retired Air Force colonel who has always had a little boat for fun. Lacey is a marine cargo operations manager for United Terminal at the Port of Tacoma and is licensed to drive any size commercial ship. He's been at the wheel of ships over 800 feet long, while Daily had never been on anything bigger than a 12-foot fishing boat before joining the patrol.

"It's a great group of people we've got on board," Daily said.

John Graber covers law enforcement and the military for The Olympian. He can be reached at 754-5465.

On the web:

Olympia Police Department.

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