Boat Operator Cited For Drinking, Vessel Infractions

A Coast Guard boat crew rescued three people adrift Saturday night in the Great South Bay off Bay Shore and then cited the boat operator for driving under the influence of alcohol as well as safety infractions.

Three passengers on a 22-foot vessel, that was adrift after running out of gas around 8 p.m., waved down a passing Coast Guard rescue boat.

The rescue crew, after identifying the three persons as being heavily intoxicated, conducted field sobriety tests and a chemical brath analyzer test to the operators and passengers and all failed, according to a Coast Guard press statement.

The vessel owner, whose identity was not available from the Coast Guard as of press time, was also cited for not having a required navigational light, Type IV personal flotation device and unserviceable life jackets following a vessel safety check.

A Suffolk County Police Marine unit that responded to the incident took the vessel in tow and moored it at a marina where it remained over night, according to the Coast Guard.