Despite the lack of a permit from the New Hampshire Marine Patrol, roughly 600 Dartmouth students congregated on the Connecticut River this Saturday for Tubestock.
A mass of rafts, inner-tubes, swimmers and spectators stayed along the Vermont side of the river about a quarter-mile upstream from the Ledyard Bridge for more than five hours.
According to New Hampshire Marine Patrol Sergeant Ouellette, six police boats and 12 officers patrolled the river during the entire event.
The main objective of the Marine Patrol was to keep the rafts and swimmers contained as close to shore as possible, in order to keep the river clear for other crafts and to reduce the risk of drowning, Ouellette said.
"If we had allowed the rafts to come out further and further the river would have been completely blocked," Ouellette commented.
Ouellette said he thought Tubestock was not a safe event this year and did not know if a permit would be granted for future Tubestocks.
"Alcohol and people in the water without life-jackets -- those are the ingredients for a fatality," Ouellette concluded.
Two Vermont State Police officers, dressed as civilians, were also present at Tubestock. Several students received $70 tickets for public intoxication and possession of alcohol by minors, but the officers would not comment on how many tickets were given out at the event.
The Marine Patrol made at least one arrest, and participants assaulted one another more than once. Ouellette would not comment on whether these two events were related.
Several summons were also issued to students for littering and boating violations. Ouellette also said that an ambulance arrived on the scene several times due to injuries sustained by people in the water.
Many people came to the event this year largely due to the sunny hot weather, which remained in the eighties all afternoon.
Traditionally, Chi Heorot fraternity alum Rick "Boomer" Akerboom '80 sponsors the event and hosts a band, but this year he decided not to be publicly involved with Tubestock.
The event is not recognized by the College.
