Greene County Sheriff’s Office commissions new boat

CATSKILL―The Greene County Sheriff's Office Marine Patrol operates along 26 miles of the Hudson River, responding to hundreds of incidents every year. Now, they have a new vessel to do it.

On Monday morning, Sheriff Pete Kusminsky smashed a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne on the bow of Knot On Our Watch, the department’s custom 31-foot 2026 Life Proof Boat.

The ceremony, held at the Catskill Point, was attended by members of multiple area law enforcement agencies and county officials. It is a centuries-old maritime tradition meant to bless a new vessel with good luck and ensure safe voyages.

“Our old boat was in a bad state of disrepair,” noted Kusminsky, who called the new one “a beautiful piece of machinery.”

Built by Inventech Marine Solutions (IMS) in Bremerton, WA, it is powered by Twin 300 hp Mercury outboard engines and comes with a 3.5 kW generator, state-of-the-art sonar technology, radar, a 300-gallon per minute fire pump and plenty of safety features. The cabin also has both heat and air conditioning.

“We’ve responded when we’ve been called upon through all types of weather, all kinds of conditions and in all seasons,” said Senior Investigator Kris Danko, who also oversees the Marine Patrol.

The sheriff’s office took delivery of the new boat on May 18 and not five hours after it was put into service the Marine Patrol got a call.

“Around 11 p.m. a 911 call was received from a concerned family member who stated that their loved one had not yet returned home. He was an 80-year-old man who had been out for about 14 hours. They didn’t know where he was and the vessel was disabled,” Danko explained.

Utilizing the boat’s lighting system, flare unit and radar, they located the man just south of Athens Riverfront Park.

“He was stuck, disabled and in the weeds of the shoreline. We were able to tow his boat back to safety, secure it, and got him home safely,” Danko said.

“It is the first call of many this boat will undoubtably see during its career,” he added, saying that the ability to have such an advanced vessel is going to better the service they are able to provide to the community.

Both Kusminsky and Greene County Legislative Chairman Patrick Linger tipped their hats to the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office that two years ago loaned Greene County a boat after the old one was beyond justifiable repair.

The price tag on a new vessel was going to be around $550,000 and Linger said Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden “worked his magic and figured out financing on this thing.”

Approximately $450,000 in county fund balance was applied and the cost was offset by a $100,000 grant from the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

“And here we are today with this piece of machinery that is going to do a lot of good work here on this water whenever it is needed,” Linger said.

“I don’t think people understand how much traffic is on this river,” he noted, adding that the marine patrol mitigates potential disasters very well.

As for the name, Danko said he challenged members of the sheriff’s office to come up with one and Knot On Our Watch stuck.

“I felt that for everything we do on here, Knot On Our Watch fits,” he said.

“Not on our watch will the members of this agency let your calls for help on our waterways go unanswered. Not on our watch are we going to leave you stranded. Not on our watch will your marine activities be affected by wrongdoers. Not on our watch will we not return your loved one back to you. Not on our watch will BWIs and drugs be tolerated. And not on our watch will our community’s waterfront be left unprotected,” Danko said.