Harbormasters have been on watch since colonial times to ensure that shipping went smoothly and trade was regulated. Two centuries later, Section 23 of Massachusetts's code on Harbors and Harbormasters still contains the wording that permits harbormasters to direct vessels to "cockbill the lower yards ... and rig in the jib boom." Click here for more.

Nearly all harbormasters in the U.S. are municipal employees, either appointed by their village, town or state, and their geographic area of responsibility can cover just one marina, or an entire harbor and acres of mooring fields, transient docks and year-round marinas. Many harbormasters have a staff of dock, fuel and maintenance workers as well as harbor patrol or natural resources staff under their control.

The days of the harbormaster sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch with a corn cob pipe are gone. There is much more boating traffic, and in a post-9-11 world where harbor security is a priority. Harbor can be "target-rich"--full of bridges, power plants, passenger ships and offloading tankers.

In addition to homeland security, environmental laws are also a big issue now. While enforcing the rules of the road concerning boats operating within their jurisdiction, a big part of the job is to educate boaters on the state's environmental regulations and responsibilities can be extensive.