Sheriff Takes Delivery of New Public Safety Boat

The Sentinel – Contributed photo

The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office has officially taken delivery of the Sentinel, a new 38’ X 12’ Munson catamaran equipped as a patrol/rescue and fire-fighting boat.

The new craft is equipped with a pump capable of directing 1500 gallons of water per minute on marine, marina or waterfront fires and serving as a floating fire hydrant to pump water further ashore. With its instrumentation and twin aluminum hull design, it can operate in inclement weather and remain stable in rough seas. Twin Volvo Penta diesel outdrives give it the capability of responding at speeds up to 40 miles per hour.

“This is a public safety asset that will serve SJC well for years into the future,” Sheriff Nou said Monday, “We expect it to save lives.”

In its varied public safety missions, the Sentinel will be jointly operated by the Sheriff, San Juan Island Fire and Shaw Fire District 3.

After final outfitting and crew training, it will replace two existing public safety boats that are at the end of their life cycles: the fire boat Confidence and the Orcas Sheriff’s patrol boat.

“This is not only a great asset for our Community, it a great value for our taxpayers,” Nou said. The entire $600,000 cost of acquiring and outfitting the boat was funded by a Port Security Grant through the U.S. Homeland Security Department. Other state and federal funds will defray the cost of staffing, operating and maintaining the craft.

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