This thread is up to 160 replies, and exactly two of them (yours plus one more) report unpleasant encounters with the USCG. Seems inconsistent with your assertion.
your experiences with boat police???
- Thread starter MitchM
- Start date
Statistically, that sounds pretty good. With that many replies, you are likely to see some negative experiences. If you think of the larger group as a "super mind" than we are just talking about divergent thoughts to explore an issue. Nothing is learned if all is in harmony.
My conclusion is, everyone wants to do a good job. No one wakes up in the morning and says, "I'm going to do a bad job today. " So, I try to practice patience knowing I often lack understanding. I also recognise that I can benefit from those who aren't patient and push for change over complacency.
My BP is better because someone else lets theirs get to high.
- Will ("social philosopher", Dragonfly)
I agree. Although admittedly some of the 160 replies diverged a bit into past crimes and fast cars
. The better statistical test would be to count the unique respondents to the thread and see what percentage of them have had a bad USCG experience, but that sounds like work.I couldn't agree more.
Never had a bad experience on the water with any law enforcement. Had a few citations on the highway (speeding) but never one I didn't deserve.
Never had a citation, from the USCG or any other water agency.Perhaps a few consider any stop the ends in a citation to be an "unpleasant encounter"?
november tenth 1975, the coast guard was called because the edmund fitzgerald was reported missing. the cg breacker at the soo NEVER LEFT THE DOCK. local fish tugs left the dock and went searching.
i have watched huge bribes accepted to get junker ships certified for the season.
saw young cg officer demand 19 yr old porter climb a jacobs ladder on a pumped dry ship with a cruiser stern. he fell 40 ft back into life boat. damaged for life.
i have been stopped many times by cg, all bogus. and rude
never, with over a million miles at sea have i been given a citation. i have never been helped by the coast guard when i did call them.
i'm sure there are some good coasties, but add my name to the list of people that have a low opinion of the cg.
i like the local sturgeon bay sheriffs water patrol. good practical policing of the local waters.
hate the local dnr. no citations with them either. just plain rude and inapropiate to many
i have watched huge bribes accepted to get junker ships certified for the season.
saw young cg officer demand 19 yr old porter climb a jacobs ladder on a pumped dry ship with a cruiser stern. he fell 40 ft back into life boat. damaged for life.
i have been stopped many times by cg, all bogus. and rude
never, with over a million miles at sea have i been given a citation. i have never been helped by the coast guard when i did call them.
i'm sure there are some good coasties, but add my name to the list of people that have a low opinion of the cg.
i like the local sturgeon bay sheriffs water patrol. good practical policing of the local waters.
hate the local dnr. no citations with them either. just plain rude and inapropiate to many
so, what i try and do is get the free coast guard aux. inspection and the sticker the give you to display on my mast. the sticker implys that your you are legal and therefore not bait for them
Do you have a source for that? I'd like to read more about it. All I can find says the CG had no operational ships in range. They did deploy aircraft later in the night, and two ships from further away that arrived some time later. Also I see that three other freighters agreed to search, but no local fish tugs were referenced in anything I found.
i worked on the fitz in 72. Mc sorley got me my sailing papers. knew the crew. sailed through that storm. worked for columbia steamship. was buddies with the company's hull captain. he oversaw all the companies vessels. he took it hard that she went down. he even dove the shoals looking for scrape marks. the officers union was based here then. they too were looking for answers. it was from conversations with those who looked into it that i write these things
I hate all forms of authority, and all authoritarians.
Unless it's me, of course.
Unless it's me, of course.
It's always best when authority posts are filled by just some guy and not a member of a family of career power seekers.
Unfortunately, it's the ambitious that fight for those positions. I, as an example of the well meaning, incorruptible, hyper-intelligent, deeply considerate and knowledgeable philosopher, would make the ideal president to lead our country to better global relationships, improved and more level economy for all classes, reduce crime, raise education levels and a sailboat in every driveway, but, unlike Pythagoras or Plato, I am too smart to want the job even to keep someone else of more self-centered ambition and less ability from getting it.
This is just an example of personality types, by no means meant to start any kind of discussion on politics.
- Will ("conscientious objector", Dragonfly)
So crowded sourcing of thought but in different directions ?
I can understand that, but sometimes I wonder if individuals wake and decide “I’m lazy let’s see how little I can do and get away with it “!
When you mentally examine an issue in your mind, do you focus on one line of thought or do you consider multiple directions before coming to any conclusions. Interestingly, most people think linearly. Those who score higher on a creativity scale tend to think in multiple directions at once and engage areas of the brain that are not directly identified with having to do with thought on the particular problem. Example: when thinking about how to get from point A to point B. Most people engage areas of the brain that are relayed to spacial thinking only. A creative person may also show activity in their language centers, etc. There is a correlation between one's score one these creativity scales and how many areas of the brain engage in a problem. Oddly, it becomes a crap shoot for efficiancy. Linear thinking often gets to a solution faster when the problem isn't complex but creative thinking comes up with more and better solutions in the end.
- Will (Dragonfly)
And then there's THIS post, which you must have quite conveniently missed;
"Capta, you might be interested to know that boaters all over the country are challenging the USCG right to stop-and-board boats when they have no reasonable suspicion or probable cause to think you are violating any law. thy have a system called EPIC where they keep track of known drug smugglers and convicted criminals. (if you or your boat are in that computer system your boating life is ruined... ) your action of safely proceeding to the nearest port would likely be viewed with great favor by any court if the coasts tried to prosecute you for 'resisting arrest or inspection.' unfortunately here on lake erie, 4th of july coincides with new coasts coming in to C G stations at erie cleveland and toledo so they are very anxious to have they assorted trainees hovering all over our clean white decks. a group of lawyers in erie are up in arms and ready to do battle over these stop-and-boards in court.. on grounds of the 4th amendment..."
Saw it, but was only counting personal or direct negative experiences. If we assume this poster had one of those then that's three in 175 posts (4 if we add Jon Hansen's reply). Still not really suggestive of "being fortunate if you haven't had a bad experience".
Just to be clear - I'm not trying to say that I doubt your experiences or think that there are never problems. I just think that your perspective based on the number of hours you've sailed, crossing territorial boundaries, etc. might not match the experience and perspectives of daysailors or casual coastal cruisers.
Some should probably ask what the purpose of the 4th amendment is? I think then one would have a better understanding of why some are opposed to random boarding, regardless of the demeanor of the police or CG.
While I've not yet been stopped while sailing, I could think of several reasons why the police should have no business stopping me. My sailing is time is limited, and therefore is at a premium. If a half hour of my 2 hours available to be out on the water is consumed by a safety inspection, that is a pretty significant inconvenience. Worse yet would be to stop me on my way in. Now I'm late getting home and tearing down the boat in the dark, which takes much longer. Should the police have the right to ruin my time on the water, or just at random, delay me getting in, causing me to miss a possible deadline?
While I've not yet been stopped while sailing, I could think of several reasons why the police should have no business stopping me. My sailing is time is limited, and therefore is at a premium. If a half hour of my 2 hours available to be out on the water is consumed by a safety inspection, that is a pretty significant inconvenience. Worse yet would be to stop me on my way in. Now I'm late getting home and tearing down the boat in the dark, which takes much longer. Should the police have the right to ruin my time on the water, or just at random, delay me getting in, causing me to miss a possible deadline?
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Congratulations! This has to be the single worst post of this entire thread. Need I say more?