Boat Safety Measures for 2015 Lighthouse Music Fest Implemented

5 mph speed limit, increased patrols in area around September 5 Lighthouse Music Fest event.

            Huntington will again impose measures aimed at ensuring that boaters wanting to attend the Huntington Lighthouse’s annual Music Fest September 5 can enjoy the event and leave safely.

            The Town will again impose a 5 mph speed limit within half a mile of the Lighthouse and establish a safety zone around the Lighthouse to keep vessels clear of the dock and rocks and to protect swimmers in the vicinity of the Lighthouse.  The speed limit will be in effect from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

2014 Music Fest

            The Huntington Town harbormaster, working with the Suffolk County Police Department, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Lloyd Harbor Village harbormaster, will step up patrols in the area of the festival, which attracts more than 1,000 boats carrying over 10,000 attendees who come from as far away as Rhode Island and New Jersey.

            The Town will have rapid rescue recovery units available, if necessary, and work in coordination with local fire departments on rescues.  As has been done in the past, law enforcement boats will be strategically located throughout the area to help ensure an orderly dispersal after the event and to optimize the response time for boats in need of assistance.

            Among the agencies that have committed resources to assist in enforcement and rescue operations are the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Eatons Neck, the Suffolk County and Northport Village Police Departments, the Lloyd Harbor Village harbormaster and the Centerport, Cold Spring Harbor, Halesite, Huntington and Northport Fire Departments and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Musicfest restrictions map

           This is the fourth consecutive year the Town has set the reduced speed limit for the area around the Lighthouse during the Music Fest, a move that was originally prompted by a tragedy in Oyster Bay on July 4, 2012, that took the lives of three children who drowned when the boat in which they were watching a fireworks display capsized.

            After that tragedy, Huntington enacted legislation authorizing the Harbormaster’s Office to establish 5 mph zones during aquatic events and increased boating safety classes and other boating safety measures. Last year, the Town placed two buoys carrying the warning, “Slow No Wake” in the area around the lighthouse.

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