My fellow boaters

My fellow Americans and my fellow boaters, there is a consistent and insidious assault that is happening this very moment on our freedoms and liberties.

It is now time that we, as a group, stand up to this incremental chipping away of our liberties and freedoms and that we stand up in a unified voice for our right to enjoy OUR HUDSON RIVER undisturbed from continuous intrusions and harassment by the police. It is now time that we say, no, to police stopping us with no probable cause so that we can enjoy our precious time on the water with our friends and families undisturbed. If we don't take a stand now and if we simply continue to complain amongst ourselves, then it will only continue to get worse day by day and we will only have ourselves to blame.

I have heard so many complaints about this over the last several years as well as the last several days. People being stopped 2,3,4,5,6, and even 7 times over the course of a weekend by various police agencies while simply enjoying their boat with their families and friends. I was once stopped 4 times in 2 days by 4 different agencies within a 6-mile stretch of the Hudson River. Why? The police wanted to do "SAFETY CHECKS!" I have been harassed and/or boarded 3 times in the last 5 days by different agencies on a 2-mile strip of the Hudson River near the Newburgh Waterfront while simply floating on my boat. As a fellow boater, I know many of you are already aware of boaters being stopped numerous times by different polices police agencies on Our Hudson River.

There are boaters that have sold their boats because of it. There are businesses on the Hudson River that are being hurt financially because some boaters have stopped going out because they just don't want to be hassled by the police. Of course the police don't think what they are doing is harassment. They say, "They are keeping safe." Thus they will continue to self-justify the numerous and repeated "safety checks" that we are continually subjected to.

Fully armed Coast Guard and police stormed onto the Riverfront Marina Docks last weekend at the Newburgh Boat show. They went out to a boat that was pulled over for having a case of locked guns on board with a 70-year-old man that had a Georgia License for them.

By the time the day was over and the parading of all the police was done, the two couples were taken to the Newburgh court and wound up with a misdemeanor. They left Newburgh that evening and I am sure will tell everyone they meet, as well as all of their family and friends how they were treated on the Hudson River.

There is NO PROBABLE CAUSE needed by the police according to the laws on the books apparently and when we have police that can stop us with no probable cause, I would argue that we are in Fact not living in a free and democratic country any more. We need to get those laws repealed! Whatever happened to that important little document called The U.S. Constitution?

The Fourth Amendment of The U.S Constitution Reads: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

The police justify their no probable cause stops by telling us, they do it to "keep us safe." The government of the United States was never intended to protect us from ourselves! We are not children in need of a government to tell us what's best for us. I suggested to a sheriff the other day, simply give me a sticker. You can check my safety equipment once and then leave me the heck alone for the rest of the summer.

I was told that they can not do that, because what if I were to take my fire extinguisher or my little orange flag off the boat? Then I would no longer be in compliance and we can't have that. Thus, they can continue to stop us again and again, day after day if they choose to. As a whole, us recreational boaters are responsible, hardworking people that want to enjoy one of the last vestiges of freedom, which is our river. However, it has started to look more like a military war zone out there instead of a beautiful oasis of peace and serenity. I have been attending the Newburgh Boat Show over the last several days and there have been so many police there, both on the shore as well as in the water that it has looked like a war zone at times and not a boat show.

The police have been tripping over each other stopping so many boaters right in front of the Riverfront Marina in Newburgh, NY. The Coast Guard, New York State Police, NY DEC, Dutchess County Sheriff, Orange County Sheriff, US Customs were directly in front of Riverfront Marina on both days or creating a blockade in the West Point area or creating a blockade by the Bear Mountain Bridge previously. At the Riverfront Marina in Newburgh, as soon as a boat left the marina or was arriving, any one of the above dropped on them like a pack of vultures looking for dead meat. Many of the law enforcement boats had as many as 6 or seven on board. At What Cost to the taxpayer? Have the politicians lost their minds completely? Are they even aware that this is going on? In case anyone has not heard New York State is broke! At one point someone said they counted 4 different agencies in front of the marina.

The Newburgh Boat Show was supposed to be a fun family event that would bring a much needed infusion of economic activity to the City of Newburgh and the Newburgh Waterfront but instead became an example of police intrusion in our lives for not only the boaters on the water, but for all the thousands of attendees who witnessed the insanity. Many of the attendees were retired police who themselves were witnessing what most said was simply out of control, TOTALLY! I was talking with a gentleman named Ken yesterday while at The Waterfront. He told me it was the first day he took his boat out for the season. Him and his wife were enjoying an idyllic cruise up the Hudson to come up to Newburgh. However, he got stopped for "A SAFETY CHECK" and ended up receiving a fine for not having A STICKER that says he is not supposed to dump oil into the Hudson River and a fine for not having a sticker that says he is not supposed to dump sewage in the Hudson River.

Thank God the police set him straight though that safety check, otherwise he may have started suddenly dumping oil into the Hudson River with wild and reckless abandon whenever he felt like it. How do we stop this insanity? Sign the petition BELOW. We'll send the petition to the government officials to get them to change the way police conduct their activities on the water. You can also tear out the page that starts STOP THE LUNACY ON THE HUDSON RIVER in The August 2010 issue of Boating On The Hudson. Fill out as many as you can and mail to the address at the bottom of that page. We will see that it gets to the proper authorities and also share their responses with you.

If not you, who? If not now, when? It's up to you and I to stand up and protect our rights and freedoms. Have Fun and Be Safe on The River!
Lex Filipowski [email protected]