Bay Constables Donate Life-saving Equipment

Boating on the Long Island Sound may now be a bit safer, thanks to a donation from the Bay Constables Benevolent Association for Maritime Search.

The organization presented a gift of diving equipment to the North Hempstead Town Board at a public meeting in Town Hall in Manhasset Thursday.

The donation could make a difference in a boating accident such as the tragedy on July 4, 2012, when the Kandi Won sank in Oyster Bay.

Joy Treanor’s daughter Harlie Treanor tragically lost her life that night, along with along with Victoria Gaines and David Aureliano.

Standing before the North Hempstead Town Board Thursday, Joy Treanor said that had the equipment been on the scene that July 4, Harlie “would be here.”
Bay Constable Christopher Briggs, the organization's president and a trained rescue diver, told the board that the new equipment helps cut rescue time.

The average rescue, he said, takes 9 minutes. But with the new gear, he said he is able to suit up in 15 seconds and a new diver can suit up in 27 seconds; other equipment could take as long as 2.5 minutes, he said.

The equipment has already been presented to the Town of Oyster Bay, and is becoming available on the South Shore and Westchester.

“This has been my mission for over 10 years,” Briggs said.

In thanking the association for the gift, Supervisor Jon Kaiman said, “A child will survive because of you.”