The Boat Troop from the Bermuda Regiment joined forces with Marine Police to help to keep the annual Non-Mariners Race safe.

Four soldiers from the Regiment’s seagoing specialists backed up officers over the holiday weekend, carrying out patrol duties around the Island on Saturday before the Non-Mariners event at Mangrove Bay, Sandys, yesterday.

Boat Troop veteran Lance Corporal Raymond Brangman said: “It’s important that the Regiment is visible at these major events and helping the police as much as we can.”

The soldiers carried out patrol duties around Mangrove Bay, using smaller police patrol boats linked to the seagoing vessel the Guardian, which anchored in the bay.

Regiment soldiers also spotted and helped to rescue a young woman who had drifted away on a lilo from a party boat, could not find her way back and had become distressed and exhausted.

L/Cpl Brangman, a 27-year-old Marine & Ports employee from Paget, added: “We got her on to the Guardian then on to one of the smaller boats to deliver her safely back to her boat.”

Corporal CJ Richardson, a qualified marine mechanic who works at Marine Locker in Hamilton, said: “I enjoy this work because I like helping people. Making the ocean safer for people to enjoy is our aim.

“We are extra eyes and that definitely helps, especially when you’re navigating through dense crowds like this.”

Police Sergeant Paul Watson, who has spent 20 years in the Marine Police, said the Regiment increased police manpower at peak times.

He added: “It’s good to have the Regiment guys out there with us – it helps us to be more visible and stop the antisocial stuff before it happens.”

Colour Sergeant Leslie Spanswick, a bartender at the Country Squire in Somerset, worked on Saturday alongside Private Cameron Harris and police boat crews.

Clr Sgt Spanswick said that he had worked most Non-Mariners events and was still happy to give up his holiday time.

He said: “It’s fine – somebody’s got to do it. People are pleased to see us and speak to us. It’s flying the flag and also, for safety reasons, there is that extra manpower available if something was to happen.”

Tractor-trailer driver Pte Harris said this was his first Non-Mariners Race as a member of Boat Troop.

The 23-year-old, who races power boats in his spare time, added: “It’s reassurance for the public to see us out there with the Police.

“Some people don’t abide by the rules on the water, so we have to be out there – it makes people feel more at ease.”

The Regiment will be hosting an open night for potential recruits on September 19 at Warwick Camp.

For more information, call 238-1045 or visit www.bermudaregiment.bm.