> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Not going overboard
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/not-going-overboard/
- Published: 2008-04-26T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T19:25:19.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Crime, Marina del Rey, #archive-import

*City’s Harbor Patrol tries to keep academy class high and dry*

Editor’s note: For the next three weeks, Editor in Chief Kevin Herrera will be writing a first-person account of what it’s like to be enrolled in the Santa Monica Police Department’s Citizen Police Academy, which is intended to foster better communication between Santa Monicans and police officers, while giving residents a better understanding of what it takes to preserve the peace.

MARINA DEL REY It wasn’t a three hour tour. It wasn’t even close, but that was a good thing. Not only were the Lakers playing Wednesday night, but the wind was picking up and the water was choppy, meaning my classmates in the Santa Monica Police Department’s Citizen Police Academy and I were bound to get sprayed.

So I was happy that after about 30 minutes on the water, we turned around at the end of the channel and headed back for land. I had a pretty expensive camera on me so I wasn’t too keen on getting wet. Luckily others were in front of me to take the brunt of the spray once we headed out into the open ocean.

As we floated around, we could see multimillion dollar homes along the shore, hundreds of birds and their smelly poop, as well as a lone sea lion resting on the rocks. The tour with the SMPD’s Harbor Patrol turned out to be more about sight seeing than about paying attention to what the patrol actually does, at least for me. I hadn’t been out in the marina since high school when my friends and I used to ditch school on certain Fridays and head over to our friend’s father’s boat and take the dingy out for a spin — definitely good times. It was nice to reminisce.

But that doesn’t mean I have no respect for the Harbor Patrol. Quite the contrary. These guys are definitely vital to making sure public safety is maintained.

The Harbor Patrol has been located on the Santa Monica Pier since the 1960s. They provide 24-hour pier security, ocean swimmer rescues and vessel assists. Harbor guards render first aid, maintain the harbor warning buoys and pier pilings, perform routine beach patrols, provide daily beach, weather, boating and fishing information and rescue ailing marine mammals.

All of the harbor guards hold SCUBA, first aid and CPR certificates. They are all highly skilled rescue boat operators which includes the ability to fight marine and pier fires from their boat, the Monica I.

As we were heading back to the dock, the two patrol officers hosting us received a call about a boat that had capsized about two miles from shore. The officers kicked into high gear, dropped us off and immediately went to assist in the rescue.

It was nice to be back on land again, even nicer to be out of class a few hours early so that I could watch Kobe Bryant dominate the Nuggets. But I didn’t rush home. Instead I joined some of my fellow classmates for some burgers and beer at Islands. It was nice to get to know them a little better and share some cheesy fries.

I realized that my classmates are really a good bunch of people who I think I am going to miss a little when this is all over.

Thank you, Harbor Patrol for the ride, and I look forward to doing it again sometime soon. But this time I’ll leave the camera in the car and prepare to get soaked.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 26, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/042608.pdf?ref=smdp.com)