Boat Races....

Sunday was the offshore grant prix boat races in Point Pleasant Beach. The first aid squad and dive team were on duty to cover the races and the general public who lined the jetty and the beach to veiw the races.

The First aid had all four ambulances at the foot of Broadway ready to respond to any calls for the racers or for first aid calls in town. This was a good spot for with all the traffic and the construction going on at the Coast Guard Station it gave them a clear was to respond. Luckily it was a uneventful day. With nothing happening during the race.

The dive team was stationed all along the jetty with surface rescue gear ready to respond to anyone falling into the rocks or the water. The team also had first aid equipment and full sets of dive gear in the squads 5 ton army truck which was on the beach right along side the jetty.

The weather wasn’t looking that good first thing in the morning but cleared up as the right around race time. Large crowds of people lined the jetty from the parking lot at Channel dr all the way out to the end of the jetty. They stayed on the jetty untill the race boats passed and then climbed down the rocks to the beach and  walked down to watch the race from the start finish line and did the same for the second race.

The squads army truck was a big hit with the public. Many pictures were taken with kids sitting in the driver’s seat and standing in front. The truck is an important piece of equipment for the first aid and the dive team as we can drive right from the road right on to the sand and drive down the beach carrying anything we need.

Two of the teams divers were on the Coast Guard Auxiliary launch 5 patrol boat as back up divers for the Coast Guard and in case something bad happened and more drivers were needed. Launch 5 is a 52 foot patrol boat and is a ideal platform for divers to work out of.

The race was run and no one fell or was hurt so it was a great day.