History of Marine Patrol is topic of program at Meredith Historical Society Speaker Series

MEREDITH — Boating activity on Lake Winnipesaukee has more than tripled in the last half century, and retired Marine Patrol Captain Timothy Dunleavy was witness to 33 of those years.

Dunleavy will present a program titled, “NH Marine Patrol on Winnipesaukee: Past to Present” on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at the Meredith Community Center as the next offering in the Meredith Historical Society’s 2026 Speaker Series.

Retiring in 2022, Capt. Dunleavy was involved over the years in virtually every aspect of the Marine Patrol, including law enforcement, accidents and drownings, fleet maintenance, and education. His program will cover the general history of the Marine Patrol Unit on Lake Winnipesaukee, a division of the New Hampshire Department of Safety.

Capt. Dunleavy served for 10 years as the Marine Patrol Unit’s commander, responsible for a staff of some 75 officers and employees. At the same time, he was the state’s boating law administrator, and in 2020 he was elected chairman of the nonprofit National Association of State Boating Law Administrators.

“Capt. Dunleavy is a true recreational boating safety professional,” said NASBLA CEO John Johnson. "We are grateful that he has chosen to extend that work and impact by serving as a NASBLA executive board member, and now as NASBLA chair.”

Over his many years patrolling Lake Winnipesaukee, Dunleavy has seen just about everything imaginable.

“Twice,” reported a local newspaper in 2018, “Dunleavy has seen people who were handcuffed jump from a patrol boat into the water. ‘I don’t know where they thought they were going to go, or how they thought they were going to escape, but they tried to do it, and it doesn’t work,’ he said.”

“As summer departs and the boating season quiets down, it is an appropriate time to welcome Capt. Dunleavy to share with us the history and present-day importance of having an active Marine Patrol to help maintain order on the big lake,” said MHS President John Hopper.

Capt. Dunleavy will present his program on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at the Meredith Community Center, at 1 Circle Drive. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for light refreshments.

The program begins at 7 p.m. All programs of the society are free, and all are welcome.

For a complete schedule of the society’s 2026 Speaker Series, visit their website at meredithhistoricalsocietynh.org.