BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — For many, the best place to celebrate the Fourth of July is on a boat.
- Brevard Sheriff Marine Unit watching the waters this July 4
- Deputy says there are many boaters who only come out on holidays
- Unit on the lookout for reckless
And to say the Indian River in Brevard County was crowded Thursday would be an understatement.
Spectrum News 13 rode along with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office as they patrolled the busy waters.
Deputy Travis Fitzgerald's holiday shift began at high noon, and right away he got looped in on an emergency.
A woman called the Brevard Sheriff's Office saying she hadn't heard from her husband since early in the morning.
She said he was testing out the new engine and electric system on his boat and launched from the Eau Gallie Pier.
"His emergency transponder went off, and we wanted to check on him," Fitzgerald said.
The search began by water and air. GPS plotted the missing boat some 11 miles out in the ocean off Sebastian Inlet, but that information was a couple hours old.
So where was he?
Just minutes later, the helicopter crew spotted the boat and led Fitzgerald right to his location.
David Barrett was just fine.
He wasn't sure how his emergency gear activated. It may been a glitch in his new electrical system.
Little did he know that the Sheriff's Office, FWC, the Coast Guard and even the Air Force were trying to find him.
"We pinged your phone trying to find you," the deputy told him, as they floated boat to boat.
"I was shocked when I saw all this," Barrett told us, laughing. "Couldn't believe it. I feel pretty popular now!"
It’s just one call of many on a busy holiday shift on the water. Fitzgerald is on the lookout for boaters under the influence, drivers not obeying posted wake zones, and reckless jet skiers.
He says there are many boaters who only come out on holidays.
"A lot of it is stopping and talking with them, tell them what they are doing good, maybe not so good," Fitzgerald said. "We've got some good boaters all over this county."
The Brevard Sheriff's Office Marine Unit will be on patrol at all three waterfront fireworks shows in Cocoa, Melbourne, and Titusville tonight.
