Asst. Harbormasters Mike Lamarine and Paul Borges spent a cold morning on the water removing the seasonal "no-wake" zone markers and replacing them with winter sticks.  These cannot be left in the water all winter as the ice will cause them to break free from their chains.

10:05   Bob Smith and Paul Borges responded to a report of "debris in the water" alongside the Battleship.  After searching the area well it was determined that the caller had actually seen an open  boat that was fishing next to the Battleship.

1:56 am  Paul Borges and Bob Smith responded to a Coast Guard request for assistance.  The Coast Guard received a mayday call from a vessel that indicated they were in this area. The temperature was 35°.   Marine 1 from the FRFD was also dispatched.   We were assigned a search area from the Braga Bridge north to The Fall River Country Club. At approximately 3:05 am the Coast Guard notified us that the search was terminated.    

8-27-2015  9:25 pm Paul Borges and Bob Smith responded to a report of a boat fire near the Mt. Hope bridge. Also responding were The F.R. Fire Dept. Marine  boat, and the Somerset Fire Dept. boat.  Large flames were visible as soon as we headed south down the river.  Our Harbormaster boat was  the first to arrive at the scene. The fire was actually a brush fire on land just along the river edge.

9:15 pm Tuesday night:   Bob Smith and Paul Borges responded to a report of (2) tugboats adrift in the Taunton River.  Also responding was the Fall River Harbor Patrol and the Coast Guard. The area was secured until both tugboats were towed back to their docking area by the management of the tugboat company.

All of the members of the Harbormaster Department spent (2) very longs days Saturday and Sunday on the water.  Safety and security meetings with the Coast Guard started around 9AM each morning.  The actual races finished up around 4pm each day. After the races the Harbormasters Dept. along with the Fall River Harbor Patrol managed the massive amount of boats exiting via the boat ramp and passing north under the two bridges.  Our boats stayed on the water until 6:30 pm.  Our primary assignment was to clear the river of any boats and to make sure that no boats entered the "safety zone" during the race.  We are proud to say that there was not a single safety incident during this entire event.  A big thank you to Asst. Harbormasters Dave Reback and Mike Lamarine for doing an amazing job on extremely hot day's getting all those boats in and out of the water at the Bicentennial Park boat ramp. The two guys worked from early in the morning until late at night when the very last boat came out of the water at the ramp.  Working on the water patrol for both days were John DaSilva, Mark De Marco, Paul Borges, and Bob Smith.

The past (2) days have been spent taking the Harbormaster boats out of the water for cleaning, inspection, and minor repairs. We've got a full weekend ahead with the speedboat races in the Taunton river and we need these boats to be ready to work.

8/11/15  9:15  Paul Borges and Bob Smith responded to a call of a boat sinking at Point Gloria Marina.  An 18' boat had taken on a large amount of rain water and the bilge pump failed. A fellow marina member noticed this and called the owner. The boat was submerged to a point that it broke the dock lines. Cause of the bilge pump failure was a large amount of wood chips and debris obstructing the pump and float. The vessel was pumped out and damage was minor.

Yesterday was the first day of collecting the ramp fee's at the boat ramp. This took almost (6) months of planning to get State and City Council approval, install the collection boxes and sign kiosks, and printing of all the forms necessary to operate the program.  The program is both self-service and staffed by Asst. Harbormasters during the peak periods.  The revenue generated from this program will all go directly to the maintenance, operation, and safety improvements to each of the boat ramps in Fall River.