great replies, and mostly very good news about the professionalism of coast guard and state boat law officers alike. the moral of the stories seems to be: 1/ know how many type 1 2 3 4 5 pfd's you are required to have, and have them.. (great reply: "what type that life jacket was? I replied "that one is type 5, 4 others are type 3.." and then quoting the expiration date and manufacturer on your flares...) 2/ have the annual courtesy inspection sticker from US Power Squadron or CG auxiliary, 3/ be on sail boats not motor boats. PS- Ohio just passed the 'boater freedom act' forbidding state boat cowboys from doing random stop and boards 'without probable cause.'. the US C G operates under federal law, its sec. 89(a) federal authority gives them the right to stop board and inspect documentation and equipment..U S C G current authority stems from the 1st Congress 1789 enactment giving the authority to the 'revenue cutters' and navy to 'stop board and inspect documents ' , without probable cause, of any ship within the US territorial waters (12 mile limit).
your experiences with boat police???
- Thread starter MitchM
- Start date
Coming back from Bahamas, leaving Gun Key, was about 5 miles off when a US Coast Guard boat came along side, and put three folks aboard ( my 25 footer). The three could not have weighed under 900 pounds added together. Two US CG and a Bahama Forces dude. We were all in the cockpit when my (then) wife commented "wonder what our water line looks like?"
as she looked down at the water coming in the cockpit scuppers
The Bahamas guy and I went to the bow, at his suggestion,, and we passed papers back and forth while my wife dealt with the coasties. We never stopped moving as we were under sail. Took about 20-25 minutes, and they left
Another time, when I had my Cross 35, we were anchored off the Marquesas, between Key west and Fort Jefferson. During the previous night we had heard unlit high speed motors on several occasions, and a low flying plane had made several passes. Just after daylight a CG inflatable pulled alongside, and a US Customs officer and two CG guys came aboard, fully armed.. They had several "square grouper' in the inflatable and asked to see papers. FIRST question was do you have any firearms aboard- I said yes and pointed to a locker- one guy promptly stepped over, put his back to the door and stood there, firearm at the ready.
Then they searched the boat. I had my wife and 13 yr old son aboard
Searching to be sure we had not picked up any of the bales. The customs guy had an angry red scratch down one cheek, from his ear to the point of his jaw, with dried blood running under- Obviously from tangling with a mangrove, and was extremely tired. After seaqrching the vessel, they thanked us, and left. All very polite
as she looked down at the water coming in the cockpit scuppers
The Bahamas guy and I went to the bow, at his suggestion,, and we passed papers back and forth while my wife dealt with the coasties. We never stopped moving as we were under sail. Took about 20-25 minutes, and they left
Another time, when I had my Cross 35, we were anchored off the Marquesas, between Key west and Fort Jefferson. During the previous night we had heard unlit high speed motors on several occasions, and a low flying plane had made several passes. Just after daylight a CG inflatable pulled alongside, and a US Customs officer and two CG guys came aboard, fully armed.. They had several "square grouper' in the inflatable and asked to see papers. FIRST question was do you have any firearms aboard- I said yes and pointed to a locker- one guy promptly stepped over, put his back to the door and stood there, firearm at the ready.
Then they searched the boat. I had my wife and 13 yr old son aboard
Searching to be sure we had not picked up any of the bales. The customs guy had an angry red scratch down one cheek, from his ear to the point of his jaw, with dried blood running under- Obviously from tangling with a mangrove, and was extremely tired. After seaqrching the vessel, they thanked us, and left. All very polite
Many years ago I took a friend... his young kids and my young kids out on the boat late one fall afternoon. There was no wind so we motored. About 4 miles from the ramp the lower unit disintegrated and I lost all of my gears. Me and the other dad started paddeling the boat back to the ramp (a sailboat!!!!). As dusk set in the kids started getting cold and about that time the lake cops showed up... said someone on shore spotted us. They gave the kids some blankets and towed us to the ramp. I made a generous donation to their fund drive that year. One other occasion, my kids were in a paddle boat about an hour before dark. The lake cops stopped and told them they had to go in since they did not have lights. They regularly swing past my boat and I can see them looking at us with their binoculars. I'm guessing since we have PFD they leave us alone.
All-in-all, my experiences have been positive.
r
All-in-all, my experiences have been positive.
r
Never been stopped in my sailboat. Had dye tabs tossed into the head in Avalon, but that's expected. Yelled at by the sherrifs once - we were coming in pretty fast (for a sailboat) due to an injury on board. Explained the situation to them and they were fine with it.
Another occasion: coming back into Dana Point in my friend's fishing boat, the O.C. Sheriff boat comes zipping out to us after we entered the channel. The guy was saying we were causing a wake - not true as we were in idle and the boat idles pretty dang slow. He gets close enough to realize we weren't drunk and gives us a "have a nice day" and goes on to the next guy. He never pulled up to any sailboats that I saw, just powerboats. Seems like this is pretty common in reading this thread.
Another occasion: coming back into Dana Point in my friend's fishing boat, the O.C. Sheriff boat comes zipping out to us after we entered the channel. The guy was saying we were causing a wake - not true as we were in idle and the boat idles pretty dang slow. He gets close enough to realize we weren't drunk and gives us a "have a nice day" and goes on to the next guy. He never pulled up to any sailboats that I saw, just powerboats. Seems like this is pretty common in reading this thread.
We're at one of the marinas on Lake Stockton in Missouri. Four couples and we had been celebrating some holiday petty hard for most of the afternoon. The marina isn't real large so we decide to motor over to the marina restaurant for dinner in one of the groups 8' inflatable. Two trips no problem.
On the way back from dinner, big party on one of the other docks so we all get there, two trips again. After telling a few lies and celebrating some more we decide to head back to the home dock maybe 200 feet away.
At this point common sense is not our strong suite and all eight of us pile into the dinghy. The dinghy has about 2 inches of freeboard so everything is a go.
Get about 3 feet away from the dock and around the corner comes the lake patrol guys heading out to the main body of the lake. He sees us, just shakes his head and points back to the dock. Asks how many life jackets we had and surprising there were 6. No tickets but we did get a lecture which we deserved.
On the way back from dinner, big party on one of the other docks so we all get there, two trips again. After telling a few lies and celebrating some more we decide to head back to the home dock maybe 200 feet away.
At this point common sense is not our strong suite and all eight of us pile into the dinghy. The dinghy has about 2 inches of freeboard so everything is a go.
Get about 3 feet away from the dock and around the corner comes the lake patrol guys heading out to the main body of the lake. He sees us, just shakes his head and points back to the dock. Asks how many life jackets we had and surprising there were 6. No tickets but we did get a lecture which we deserved.
Never been boarded while on a sailboat. The only time we were even approached was anchored way up in Little Shark River, in the Everglades, waiting out a norther.
A sheriff's boat pulled up a few yards away, just to ask if we were okay. Because "we don't see many sailboats up in here!" he said, grinning.
I appreciated him checking on us, and told him so. We chatted a moment, and he went on his way.
A sheriff's boat pulled up a few yards away, just to ask if we were okay. Because "we don't see many sailboats up in here!" he said, grinning.
I appreciated him checking on us, and told him so. We chatted a moment, and he went on his way.
In the Lake Erie Islands north of Sandusky, I have seen the USCG often, but have never seen them board us or any other boat. I’ve seen local law enforcement boats cruising Sandusky Bay, or island anchorages, looking for boat numbers on dinghies or other violations. Again, they have never bothered us. We have never seen a Canadian enforcement boat of any kind.
Our only encounter was a “Homeland Security” boat that pulled alongside about 30 feet away when we were 10 miles off Erie on our way back from Long Point, Canada. We had already reported in using our Nexis card and cell phone. We told them our clearance number, and they took off.
Our only encounter was a “Homeland Security” boat that pulled alongside about 30 feet away when we were 10 miles off Erie on our way back from Long Point, Canada. We had already reported in using our Nexis card and cell phone. We told them our clearance number, and they took off.
Actually, DEA seems to be the worst as far as stories I've heard about boardings. No personal experiences
-Will (Dragonfly)
There is a rule somewhere that says the type 4 is supposed to be immediately available & the type 3s are not supposed to be covered or blocked from access or something like that. They can't still be in the packaging that they often come in. Sometimes an issue is made if that. I don't remember the exact wording if the rule.
There is some other rule about the passengers being informed of the location of the life jackets. I don't remember if that rule applies to personal boats or just boats carrying people for hire.
Life jackets do seem to be the first thing that they usually want to check. A poor response there often seems to get you the full shake down.
Expiration dates on flares is one of the got-cha items, if they want to write a ticket. Even if you have all the correct in-date flares on board, also having even just one expired flare mixed in with the rest can get you written up. It seems silly to me that you can't also carry the old ones (just in case you need to use them & end up needing more than 3), but that is what's on the books. I think that there is some way around that, if the old flares are in a separate container & labeled as not being safety equipment or locked up or something like that, but again, I don't remember the exact details. I don't leave the expired ones on the boat. I think that the rule on flares is a high seas regulation. I don't think that they can write you on that one unless you go outside the inlet. I need to look that one up. It's been a long time. I always carry them regardless.
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Entwine this thread with the one discussing the beer tap on board: The obvious solution is to offer the uniformed gentlemen/ladies a cold one before they leave your boat!
For the most part, the Marine Enforcement down in Kemah is pretty relaxed, but there have been a few occasions where I have seen Police Boats raft up alongside a power vessel, and in some cases, order the operator and crew off the boat and have Sea Tow take it away; this being the south, there tend to be a lot of party-drinkers who either rent a power boat or buy one because they've got money, and naturally assume that "It's my boat, I can do what I want on it!" and they often find themselves mistaken through situations such as this. As for myself, I've never been stopped by any enforcement vessel of any kind, but I have been given a good ole' thumbs up from the Coast Guard as they crossed my bow on the way back into the channel under full sail on a wing-on-wing run...I don't know if they were liking the sail trim, or the Sea Scout ensign flying from my port halyard!
Not a problem in Louisiana in general but for a while back in the '80's/90's the Coasties were tracking drugs pretty heavily on the Pontchartrain. They'd pull along side asking us to maintain course and speed while they talked to us and checked numbers.. always courteous and professional.. in Florida, the local guys are somewhat rude and not careful about scuffing topsides as they check papers and life preservers and flares and extinguishers.. Some Mississippi Gulf Island Park Ranger enforcement checking papers and also scuffing topsides..
Did anyone see this in their news feeds? This sailboat, appropriately named Saint Nicholas, broke free of its mooring and floated out into lake Erie where is it got frozen in. The CG is being very sympathetic to the situation and plans to help the owner when they find him. I don't know what "salvage plan" they are thinking. They should be able to wait for a thaw.
There's a video. Probably from a drone -
http://fox8.com/2018/01/17/sailboat-frozen-in-ice-in-fairport-harbor/
There's a video. Probably from a drone -
http://fox8.com/2018/01/17/sailboat-frozen-in-ice-in-fairport-harbor/
Early in the WODs we were doing a night dive off American shoals in the lower keys. I had returned to the boat but we still had teams in the water. Plain-Jane center consol civilian boat. I hear a light rumble and then a search light hits me full on. Some guy announces his alphabet soup enforcement agency and tells me to prepare for boarding. I tell him to keep a lookout for divers in the water. They come up against us hard and 3-4 guys in full battle rattle jump on the boat. Had balaclavas to conceal their identity. We exchanged pleasantries while they tore up the boat looking for whatever...”why you out here at night”. By now we had divers surfacing and more dialogue. Satisfied that we were not the dudes they were looking for the search party crawls back aboard the search boat. The impression they left was one of disappointment and suspicion. No “have a nice evening” was offered. Lot of black scuff marks on our boat. As it pulled away I noticed that it had 6, six, six freaking outboards and some kind of amazing muffler apparatus. The boat barely made a sound.
Next day we were down in Key West at the marina doing some business. Sitting on a trailer is THE boat. I walk over to inspect the thing and an itchy little guy steps up and asks what I’m doing. Checking out this rig, I say. He tells me to step back and move along. We are in a public marina, in the parking lot so I ignore him. “Where did you guys get this,” I ask, knowing that the County had very limited funds for this kind of crazy chase boat tech. “Where we get all our fast boats, from the bad guys”, he said.
That's consistent with the stories I've heard about the agencies with a more specifics enforcement agenda. They don't like making mistakes or wasting their time on the innocent. Consequently, some of them may be incline to take their frustration out on their unintended victim.
I've heard of boat seizures that resulted in them finding nothing and just handing the pieces back with a "you are free to go"
Again, just rumor and my experiences have been positive.
-Will (Dragonfly)
I wasn't raised very well by my dad. I badgered him unmercifully for a few years until he finally bought a small runabout for my brother and I to have for water skiing on our small lake. I was only about 12 years old and he just turned us loose with the key to the boat. I did not have much training or instruction that I can remember. We had been playing around on small boats long enough and we could swim, I guess he figured. Those were different days when 10 year olds got a .22 rifle for a birthday present, I think. We had no authorities on our lake so I basically made up the rules myself, which meant that I didn't really follow any rules when boating. That was all well and good until much later in life when I kept my ski boat on Lake Hopatcong, where State Police patrols all over the lake. It took a while to break me from my bad habits and law-breaking activities. For a few years, I collected tickets for a variety of infractions, including, speeding away from my dock within 100' of shoreline, speeding away from the dock after sunset (it was dusk, and not quite dark enough for me to notice the blue flashing lights when he had somebody else pulled over ), water skiing in a restricted area at the wrong time, water skiing without that ridiculous orange flag flying. There was another for a private matter in the middle of the night that should be left un-discussed (our lights were not on). Sheeesh, I thought, all these freaking rules!
The last straw was getting busted for water skiing without an observer. We were in the habit, just Sue and I, to get out early and water ski in our secluded cove, as many people do on Lake Hopatcong. The problem is that it's just Sue and me. Sue's driving and I had just hopped off the boat with my ski and was waiting for her to pull the slack out when State Police turned the corner into our cove. I yell at her to wait a second, but sure enough they circle over to give us a ticket. I wasn't skiing, I was just treading water, I complained. That argument didn't fly, as much as I think that I was technically in the right.
It really wasn't State Police that busted me from my bad behavior. It was Sue, who gave me unholy hell over all the freaking tickets we kept getting. We weren't obtaining drinking violations, and we had all the proper necessities on board. We did recognize one or two of the cops from a previous incident, and I suppose they got to know me and my boat but there never seemed to be any hard feelings.
I've never been stopped at random, and have never attracted any attention on our sailboat, even when the registration stickers have expired. I don't know what it is about me ... my new registration stickers stay in the glove box of my car for at least a month after the old registration stickers have expired. I only think about it when I see a CG boat in the area.
), water skiing in a restricted area at the wrong time, water skiing without that ridiculous orange flag flying. There was another for a private matter in the middle of the night that should be left un-discussed (our lights were not on). Sheeesh, I thought, all these freaking rules!The last straw was getting busted for water skiing without an observer. We were in the habit, just Sue and I, to get out early and water ski in our secluded cove, as many people do on Lake Hopatcong. The problem is that it's just Sue and me. Sue's driving and I had just hopped off the boat with my ski and was waiting for her to pull the slack out when State Police turned the corner into our cove. I yell at her to wait a second, but sure enough they circle over to give us a ticket. I wasn't skiing, I was just treading water, I complained. That argument didn't fly, as much as I think that I was technically in the right.
It really wasn't State Police that busted me from my bad behavior. It was Sue, who gave me unholy hell over all the freaking tickets we kept getting. We weren't obtaining drinking violations, and we had all the proper necessities on board. We did recognize one or two of the cops from a previous incident, and I suppose they got to know me and my boat
but there never seemed to be any hard feelings.I've never been stopped at random, and have never attracted any attention on our sailboat, even when the registration stickers have expired. I don't know what it is about me ... my new registration stickers stay in the glove box of my car for at least a month after the old registration stickers have expired. I only think about it when I see a CG boat in the area.
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"I've heard of boat seizures that resulted in them finding nothing and just handing the pieces back with a "you are free to go" " .. if the USCG proceeds from a stop-and-board sec. 89(a) 'document and equipment ' inspection to a 'space accountability search, the boat owner can be in trouble. the SAS happens when they have some probable cause to think you are a drug runner such as your boat waterline being 2 feet under water. a SAS has USCGs looking for your hidden compartments or beer growlers filled with drugs, so during a SAS they can take apart ceilings and drill into engine beams and gas tanks looking for clever hidden drug storage areas. when they do SAS searches you have already been towed back to some harbor . your boat is left a mess from them tearing it up. if they find illegal drugs in clever hidden compartments, they prosecute you and you don't get the USCG to pay for the damage. if they find nothing in a SAS you can ask or sue to get the feds to pay which may take months or years, and mean while your boat is a total mess... drug running or no drug running, your free choice !
Wow, really a "private matter"? OK, moving on....
So basically we have a felon in our midst. Good to know.....