Memorial Day weekend is the official start of the boating season. And our Beth Croughan spoke with the Ulster County Sheriff's office about keeping it a safe one.

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"The Hudson River is the main thoroughfare from the Atlantic Ocean to Canada. So we get a lot of boats up the Hudson river from all over the world," explained Ulster County Undersheriff Frank Faluotico.

But come Memorial Day weekend, Ulster County Sheriff's Deputies encounter much more than foreign boats and fisherman.

"Now the recreational boaters start coming out."

Deputies patrol nearly 70 miles of water on the Hudson River.
And officers say each summer, they respond to accidents that could have otherwise, been prevented.

"Every year, unfortunate situations, drownings and deaths within this river and the bodies of water of Ulster County," said Faluotico.

Undersheriff Faluotico reminds boaters to use common sense when out on the water. He said always carry a cell phone and the right safety equipment and asks you drive responsibly. The Undersheriff said they issue the most tickets for equipment violations and reckless driving.

"Every year we pull boats off the jetty down by the Kingston Lighthouse, or they'll come up here to see the falls and they'll hit these rocks and they'll run it around. Use common sense, simple, slow speeds, know where the wake zones are."

And life jackets, Faluotico said, really are a life saver.

"The Hudson River has an incredible current and undertoe to it that people don't realize. Unfortunately, a lot of people will jump off their boat without any type of floatation device. And they are hundreds of feet away from their boat before they realize how far away from their boat they are."

The Ulster County Sheriff's Department offers year-round boat safety courses and performs courtesy boat safety checks.
Patrol boats will be out in full force through Labor Day.