My Coasties
I grew up in a Coast Guard family, so my experience may be clouded. However, here it is. When I was a kid playing in boats, I used to get boarded every couple weeks. It got to the point where I would see them walking down the dock to me; all I had to do was hold up my life jackets, flares, horn and fire extinguisher, and they would turn around and walk off. They never even made it to the boat! More recently (last summer), I was salmon fishing off the Oregon Coast when the head gasket blew on my 19' boat. This was pre-sailboat, mind you. Anyway, I called the Coast Guard, and they put out a request for marine assistance on the radio. It's standard procedure for them to call for a commercial tow first if the vessel is not in imminent danger. Fortunately for me, there are no commercial towers in my area, so they diverted a 47' MLB on patrol to my location and towed my back in. They towed me a little fast and I shipped some water in through my outboard well, but I told them to slow down and all was well. The rest of the trip went without incident. Back at the dock, I was given a quick inspection and asked all the normal questions. All in all, it was a pleasant experience, save having my motor break. Yesterday I went Halibut fishing on a Charter Boat 37 miles out on the Oregon Coast. There were about 100 boats in the immediate vicinity Halibut fishing, and the Coast Guard sent out a 47' MLB to patrol and standby during the event. We watched them all day, from early morning until the afternoon. They weren't there to harass or intimidate boaters, they were just there to help. No boardings, no inspections, just standing by until someone needed them. They even had two 5 gallon gas cans on the back deck if someone ran out of fuel! As a note, I've heard from numerous people that the coasties "don't know the rules themselves" in regards to registration and such. While it is not excusable to not know the rules when you are charged with enforcing them, it might help to understand how the Coast Guard works. Many of these folks get transferred from one state to another, from shore duty to sea duty and back again. The relevance of all this is that regulations vary from state to state, especially in regards to registration requirements. While one state may require registration for any sailboat over a certain length, another may only require registration for a powered vessel, and another may require registration for all boats no matter what. It is very likely that the ones who "don't know the rules" recently transferred from a different state where the rules were different. The Coast Guard has a difficult job, and it has only been more difficult since 9/11. These brave folks don't get paid much, and are charged with being anything and everything on the water, from cop to firefighter to EMT, and most of them do it well.
