Sheriff's Office Proposes Volunteer Jet Ski Unit for County Coastline

The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office presented federal officials the framework for a proposal that will allow volunteers on Jet Skis to patrol the surf break at Mavericks.

The program, called the "San Mateo County Motorized Personal Watercraft Volunteer Marine Rescue Program," could be formed as an extension of the sheriff's marine unit, sheriff's Sgt. Joe Sheridan said.

"We would be taking our current marine unit and expanding it to include personal watercraft," Sheridan said.

The all-volunteer marine unit is comprised of certified divers and boatmen who are trained by the sheriff's office to respond to cliff rescues and waterway emergencies, Sheridan said.

The unit could be expanded to encompass a fleet of volunteers on Jet Skis who would eventually patrol all the ocean waters off the San Mateo County coast, including Mavericks and coastal zones further south that lie outside the 1,282-square-mile Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.

The proposal, still in its planning phase, was outlined Thursday at a meeting of the sanctuary's advisory council, who approached the
sheriff's office and requested they formulate a plan to establish patrols in critical areas of the sanctuary, Sheridan said.

The Mavericks break lies within the marine sanctuary and is therefore subject to federal regulations, which include restrictions on personal watercraft for personal use in federally protected waters.

The use of Jet Skis was restricted in sanctuary waters in the 1990s to protect endangered wildlife from being disturbed, Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary spokeswoman Mary Jane Schramm said.

"That is an area that is used by many species that are protected by federal law," Schramm said.

Jet Skis are permitted at Mavericks when they are operated by a public agency like the sheriff's office, or when ocean conditions prompt a high surf warning from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, sanctuary superintendent Maria Brown said.

Big wave surfer Jeff Clark -- who supports an expanded use of personal watercraft to improve safety conditions for Mavericks surfers -- said that rough surf nearly killed Southern California surfer Jacob Trette in January, on a day without any NOAA high surf advisories or warnings.

"That was not a high surf warning day," Clark said.

A photographer on a Jet Ski pulled an unconscious Trette from the water inside the Mavericks break, and Trette was later revived at Stanford Hospital, Clark said.

With the winter surf season just months away, Clark implored the sanctuary advisory council to work quickly with the sheriff's office and the surfing community to formulate a specific plan for volunteer Jet Ski patrols at Mavericks.

"Susan Milosky couldn't be here today," Clark said, referring to the wife of Hawaiian surfer Sion Milosky, who died surfing Mavericks in March.

"She's a single parent now," Clark said.

Sheridan said the sheriff's office is in the process of identifying money to establish a certification program for the proposed Jet Ski unit, and is excited to work with surfers and the community to improve safety at Mavericks.

"Anything we can do to provide a more safe environment for locals or people who visit, we're excited to do," Sheridan said.

--Bay City News