Tag Archives: Westport Police Marine Unit

Unsung Heroes #395

Posted on August 13, 2025 | 15 comments

Last Sunday, a boater reported an upside-down kayak floating in Long Island Sound, just off Compo Beach.

The Westport Police Department Marine Unit raced into action. So did boats from neighboring jurisdictions.

Westport Police radioed information about the incident to private boaters on the water. They shared a photo of the kayak.

Westport Police Marine Unit, with the kayak.

The incident ended fortuitously. Emmah Tait — a Staples High School graduate, and rising sophomore at Colorado State University — had already spotted a man, without a life preserver, clinging to his kayak.

She picked him up and brought him to Ned Dimes Marina, where he had parked his car. Perhaps because of exhaustion, he did not notify police — or anyone else — that his kayak was still in the Sound.

Emmah’s father Chris — a Westport Representative Town Meeting member — learned that she had rescued the kayaker, when he texted her about the missing person. He promptly alerted authorities. (Click here to read the full story.) 

Sunday could have been a disaster.

It was not, thanks to this week’s Unsung Heroes: the Westport Police Marine Unit, their colleagues from nearby towns, the private boaters who helped — and of course Emmah and Chris Tait.

(“06880” is proud to honor Unsung Heroes — and tell many other tales of town too. Please click here to support your hyper-local blog.)

Westport Police Marine Unit, scouring the Sound. (Photo/Jim Hood)

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Posted in Beach, Police, Unsung Heroes

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Abandoned Kayak Found In Sound; Kayaker Is Safe And Sound

Posted on August 10, 2025 | 19 comments

Disaster was averted this afternoon off Compo Beach.

But not before dozens of police and pleasure boats searched Long Island Sound, and hundreds of beachgoers watched with worry.

The drama began when an abandoned kayak was spotted a couple of hundred yards offshore.

The Westport Police leaped into action. So did those from other jurisdictions. Fire Department trucks raced to the scene.

Chris Tait — the District 1 Representative Town Meeting member, on his boat in the water — saw Westport Police pull a kayak out of the water. He heard them radio an appeal to all boaters in the area, to be on the lookout for anyone who might have been in the kayak.

Westport Police boat, searching Long Island Sound off Compo Beach. (Hat tip and photo/Jim Hood)

Chris  called his daughter Emmah — a Staples High School graduate, and rising sophomore at Colorado State University — who was in another boat. He told her what was happening.

“Oh yeah,” she said. “I picked him up!”

Emmah told Chris that earlier in the afternoon, she had seen a man hanging on to a kayak, waving in distress.

He was not wearing a life preserver, and appeared exhausted.

She helped him into her boat. He said he had been in the water for about 45 minutes.

They tried to get his kayak into Emmah’s craft, but could not.

So the man — a Westport resident in his 40s — sat next to Emmah’s dog, as she brought him back to Ned Dimes Marina, where his car was parked.

Apparently, he told no one that his kayak was still floating in the Sound. He got in his car and drove home.

But at the same time — as Emmah pulled into her slip — a police boat sped out of the marina. A boater had just called in a report of an upside-down kayak.

Chris quickly texted a photo of the kayak — which had been distributed earlier, by Westport Police — to Emmah.

Kayak, in police vessel.

She confirmed that it was the abandoned kayak.

Chris informed the police. All units returned to shore.

Congratulations and thanks to all the boaters — police and private — who responded.

And of course to Emmah and Chris Tait, for their alert and crucial help too.

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Posted in Beach, Police

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Mill Pond Crabbing Lights Up Nights

Posted on July 25, 2023 | 20 comments

People living at Old Mill have a lot to like.

They’re surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature: a small, fun beach. Funky Compo Cove. The magnificent Sherwood Mill Pond.

There’s always something to see, smell and hear, 24/7/365.

For a couple of years though, there’s something they haven’t liked.

Starting at dusk, and continuing well past 11 p.m. — sometimes as late as 2 a.m. — up to 2 dozen people have taken over the pond and the sluice that feeds it.

Men, women and children at the Sherwood Mill Pond, late night.

They hunt for crabs. To help see in the dark, they wear LED head lamps.

When they turn toward the nearby homes, their lights shine into bedrooms.

“It’s like a car headlight flashing into the house,” says Matt Murray.

LED lights from crabbers shine in nearby residents’ bedrooms. Hummock Island is in the distance.

This year, he says, crabbing began in June. Based on past years, it will continue into October.

He’s not the only concerned resident. Jann Colabella initially contacted “06880” about the ongoing activity.

In addition to the invasiveness of the LED lamps, Murray worries about over-fishing.

He notes that the crabbing is legal. The only restrictions are on size (taking small crabs are prohibited). Permits are not required.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and Bureau of Aquaculture, oversee the activity.

“They always say to call. But at 11 p.m., I don’t see reps from those agencies running down here,” Murray says.

Crabbing at the Mill Pond in 2022 …

He adds that in that past, Westport’s Police Department Marine Division have set up inspections. “It appears the crabbers have limited IDs and documents,” he says.

Murray notes one solution: changing the parking regulations at Old Mill to 11 p.m. That would allow police to ticket vehicles without a Westport beach sticker. (Many of the cars have New York license plates.)

Currently, they’re required from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. only.

Meanwhile, the crabbing continues.

And all along Old Mill, LED head lamps continue to shine in bedroom windows.

… and 2020. (Photos/Matt Murray)

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Posted in Beach, Environment, Police

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Marine Police Make A “Swell” Save

Posted on September 13, 2014 | 4 comments

Today’s Westport Historical Society kayak trip to Cockenoe Island was not exactly a day at the beach. WHS executive director Sue Gold writes:

Our 5th annual trip was hardly smooth rowing, as we quickly found out once we were a half mile offshore.

The swells were high, even though no boats were in sight. We were about 25 strong, but although the spirit was willing, Mother Nature was not.

The scene from a previous Westport Historical Society kayak trip to Cockenoe Island. This year's weather was less pleasant.

The scene from a previous Westport Historical Society kayak trip to Cockenoe Island. This year’s weather was less pleasant.

Our 2-person kayak was overwhelmed by relentless waves. Though both of us are strong and seasoned boaters, we were captive to the water that quickly filled our boat. We were forced to evacuate, fortunately onto a nearby sandbar.

We were like drowned rats, cold and shivering in the water with a boat we had no way to bail out. Peter Jennings expertly handled his safety boat to get us out of the water, but it was Bob Myer of the Westport Marine Police Unit who saved the day.

He got the kayak in his motor boat, pulled us on board, covered me with a medical blanket (my teeth were chattering), and got us back to the marina safe and sound. He then went out and rescued others on the tour as well.

Everyone got back safely. We applaud the Westport Police Department, who are there in a heartbeat to provide the most caring, compassionate and exceptional service to all in need.

One of the Westport Police Marine Unit's 2 boats. (Photo/Westportct.gov)

One of the Westport Police Marine Unit’s 2 boats. (Photo/Westportct.gov)

PS: Once we got back and my partner tossed me the car keys from the boat — well, they never made it into my hands. They now lie on the bottom of the Sound.

Fortunately, a diver overheard our dilemma and said he’s happy to take a look next week and fetch them for us. The giving never stops.

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Posted in Beach, People, Police, Weather

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