Harbor Master Marty Kasules weighs anchor

Deepa Bharath

The harbor has a new captain.

Capt. Marty Kasules officially retired as Harbor Master for the

Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol on Friday after taking a

voluntary retirement to cruise in his powerboat to Mexico. Stan

Jacquot, who is also the acting Mission Viejo police chief, has taken

the helm.

As harbor master for four years, Kasules, 46, oversaw the county’s

coastline from Huntington Beach to Dana Point. Colleagues, former

associates, friends and community members on Wednesday bade Kasules a

fond farewell at a retirement party at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht

Club, down the street from the Harbor Patrol base on Bayside Drive.

Kasules said he will follow his heart and fulfill his lifelong

dream of taking a long cruise, but will miss everything about working

on beautiful Newport Harbor.

“I’m going to miss my office, which has the best view,” he said.

“I’m going to miss all the wonderful people I work with. I’m going to

miss the harbor, the wildlife.”

“I’m even going to miss Rupert,” he added with a laugh.

In about a month, Kasules with take off with a friend in his

24-foot powerboat, Slip Away, and head south.

“I’ll see how it goes and, if we like it, maybe I’ll get a

sailboat and sail the South Pacific,” he said.

Before his appointment to the Harbor Patrol, Kasules worked at the

Sheriff’s Transportation Bureau and as a SWAT team commander. Over

the 20 years he has been with the department, he has worked as an

investigator, and a patrol and training sergeant. He worked as a

Harbor Patrol deputy for seven of those years.

Kasules said he is proud of his achievements in the area of

customer service.

“I think we have succeeded in increasing and improving the level

of service we provide to our homeowners, boaters and businesses,” he

said. “I had the good fortune of working with men and women who have

a sincere interest in boating.”

Other highlights of his career are setting up a Rescue Operations

Center and equipping fire boats with machines to resuscitate heart

patients by shocking them, he said.

“The best way to succeed is to surround yourself with good

people,” he said. “They always make you look good.”

Sgt. Daryl Parker, who worked with Kasules, called him a “true

leader.”

“He genuinely cared about the people who worked for him,” he said.

“He knew our wives’ names, our children’s names. He enjoyed his job.

He taught us how to separate your job from your private life and how

to enjoy both.”

Jacquot, 54, said he looks forward to his new assignment. He said

he will gradually move to Newport Beach once a replacement is found

for Mission Viejo, which will likely happen within the next few

weeks.

“I’ve never worked the harbor,” he said. “I’ve been in gang

detail, I’ve been on a horse and I’ve flown on a helicopter. But this

is new to me. But I look forward to the challenge.”