Quote:
Originally Posted by Chimi
I went to dinner with some friends last night at Shibley's in Alton Bay. At about 7:45 (well before official sunset), a marine patrol "attack boat" came cruising into Alton Bay.
Immediately upon their arrival, it looked like they were seeking out targets for harassment. We watched several boats that were going headway speed just get stopped for no apparent reason. Again, it was before sunset, but most of the boats had their lights on. Most of the boats were just small bowriders that seemed to have families on board that were just trying to enjoy a quiet evening on the water. Perhaps all of the boats didn't have proper registration stickers (which we could not see), but I find that hard to believe. One boat came by with blue accent lights on the side of the boat, and blue underwater lights under the swim platform, and he got pinched too. I'd say that was the only reasonable stop that I saw. The marine patrol boat even hung out at a private dock on the east side of the bay, just waiting for someone else to harass. We thought they were going to hassle the owner of the property because they had a single white light on their boathouse. But apparently they were just stalking more prey.
They put on quite a show for the entire restaurant, with most people commenting how unreasonable this all seemed. I agree - why don't they spend more time pinching people that are violating laws and creating danger to others? For a state that relies on tourism, these overzealous tactics by marine patrol leave a bad taste in everyone's mouths. Who wants to get hammered on by a navy seal attack boat when they are just out for a quiet, headway speed cruise at sunset with their families? There were two cops on the boat, so that probably made it more intimidating for the families.
Maybe there is a reasonable explanation for all of this. If so, I would like to hear it.
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Your entire post speaks of resentment toward authority.
"Marine Patrol attack boat"?
"Waiting for someone else to harass"?
"Seeking out targets for harrasment"?
"hassle the owner of the property"?
"stalking more prey"?
You have no idea why they stopped the boats that they stopped and as an uninformed person your complaints are meaningless.
I have been on this lake every summer since 1970 and I appreciate the job that the Marine Patrol does, They seem to realize that everyone is here to enjoy their day and they step in only when necessary. People with the same outlook you have criticize police officers but have no appreciation for what they do or why they do it.
In my opinion the Marine Patrol does a great job of walking the fine line between strict enforcement of every law and maintaining a safe atmosphere on the lake.
Sometimes, when you do not have all of the facts it is best to say nothing!