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Deputy Harbor Master Carl Whiteell outlines rescue, enforcement and outreach activity in harbor update
Summary
Deputy Harbor Master Carl Whiteell told the Redondo Beach Harbor Commission that harbor patrol logged roughly 181 first-quarter calls with about 42% emergent responses and 58% proactive contacts; he described water rescues, coordinated responses with LA County and the Coast Guard, enforcement training with police, and new safety outreach programs.
Deputy Harbor Master Carl Whiteell, a fire captain who identified himself to the commission, presented a quarterly public-safety update focused on harbor patrol operations, rescues and outreach.
Whiteell said first-quarter harbor calls totaled about 181, with roughly 42% coded as emergent and 58% as proactive contacts; he added the harbor's year-to-date total was about 350 calls. "We're one of the only boats pretty much in California that has that type of ALS response," Whiteell said, referring to the patrol's paramedic-equipped boat. He also reported two water rescues during the past six months and about 48 medical-aid responses handled by crews that can operate on both land and sea.
Why it matters: the harbor patrol's mix of education, enforcement and emergency response affects public safety during high-use events (for example, fireworks and large paddleboard events) and informs operational decisions and resource needs for future seasons.
Whiteell described a joint enforcement-and-training program with the police department that places harbor patrol and trained officers on boat 63 for weekend enforcement, outreach and staged training scenarios. He recounted a Memorial Day incident in which an erratic Duffy operator was arrested and an intoxicated occupant required medical transport; according to Whiteell, the next day the Duffy rental company voluntarily revamped its safety protocols, "they would rather lose business than create an unsafe environment for our harbor," the deputy harbor master said, paraphrasing the business owner.
Whiteell also reviewed coordination for the Fourth of July fireworks barge. He said harbor staff arranged a "soft closure" with the Coast Guard and that one vessel ignored orders to remain outside the exclusion zone; Whiteell said the Coast Guard is investigating that incident.
Among outreach efforts, Whiteell described the first Boater Safety Day where crews provided CPR and live-fire extinguisher training, distributed boater-safety cards and worked with marinas to improve on-water safety. He said harbor patrol also supports research operations with Cal State Long Beach's SharkLab on tagging great white sharks and provided safety oversight for a recent bridal-paddleboard event with thousands of participants.
Commissioners asked follow-up questions about navigational aids and statistics. In response, Whiteell said some dispatch categories (for example, mayday or sinking) can include a range of incidents from full sinkings to small bilge-water calls, meaning the raw counts require case-by-case review to determine trends. He said pollution or small fuel-spill calls have generally been low-volume and are handled with standard notifications.
Next steps: Whiteell said he will follow up on outstanding items raised by commissioners, including ongoing Coast Guard coordination about a long-out jetty light and operational questions about breakwater marker placement.
Quote: "We're here to protect the community and the harbor itself as a whole," Whiteell said, describing the patrol's mix of education and enforcement.
The public-safety update concluded with commissioners thanking Whiteell for the report and asking staff to continue tracking incident-level details that could inform future education or equipment needs.
