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Two Teen Paddle Boarders Rescued Near Rye's Manursing Island

PORT CHESTER, N.Y. -- Port Chester Police’s newest patrol vessel might not have all its official markings on it yet, but the department is already praising its new boat after the rescue of two stranded paddle boarders off Manursing Island on its first day in the water.

Port Chester Police rescued two paddle boarding teens struggling against the current on July 22 two miles south of Rye's Manursing Island.

Port Chester Police rescued two paddle boarding teens struggling against the current on July 22 two miles south of Rye's Manursing Island.

Photo Credit: Google Maps

Officer Jeff Garcia pulled a 13-year-old female and a 15-year-old male from Rye out of the water around 2:30 p.m. on July 22 approximately two miles south of Manursing Island in Rye. Garcia spotted the exhausted teens struggling in the water against the current while performing sea trials in the department’s newly-acquired 24-foot Boston Whaler named Harbor One.

The officer returned the teens and their boards to Westchester Beach Club.

“The pair handled themselves quite well,” said Port Chester Police Chief Richard Conway in a statement.  “They stayed together and did not panic. The rescue illustrates one of the dangers in paddle boarding in the Sound. A person standing on a board, in effect, becomes a sail. Add to that a parallel current and you could find yourself far from shore and exhausted from fighting the current.”

Harbor One joined the Port Chester Police Department in July from the New York State Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation. With twin 200-hp Mercury outboards, the boat can reach speeds more than 50 mph and can operate in sea of five feet.

“We are looking forward to great things from the Harbor Patrol Program,” said Conway in a statement.

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