NHCSO patrol units hit the water as the holiday weekend kicks off

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, N.C. (WECT) - As the Memorial Day holiday weekend kicks off, the New Hanover County Sherriff’s Office wants to make sure you’re staying safe if you’re hitting the water.

“The best thing is easy does it on the water, you’re not in a hurry,” said Lt. Brewer with the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office. “Please don’t intake alcohol if you’re the captain.”

Hundreds of boaters were in Wrightsville Beach on Saturday afternoon, and multiple boats were pulled over by sheriff’s deputies for safety checks.

“We’re not out there necessarily to write tickets for all this,” Lt. Brewer said. “The boat we stopped earlier, they didn’t have a throwable so we said, hey you need to get a throwable. So they came right back into Atlantic Marine, got them a throwable. So, it’s better to educate sometimes than is to write citations.”

The sheriff’s office has a unit solely dedicated to water patrol, and they’ll be out in full force this summer.

“We’ve already started with those patrols and we’ll be seven days a week with that,” he said. “Obviously, we’ll see more traffic as it keeps coming into the summer.”

They advise boaters to have a checklist of everything you’re required to have on your boat before you head out, so you can stay safe while also having fun.

For more information on what is required for boaters in North Carolina ,click here.

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