FeverMike

the radio and helicopter could catch me. They were very cool once they saw I was harless and loved my boat. I offered to sell it to them and make the US Government a heck of a deal. Nice big bow to mount the machine gun!

open87

iTrader: (2)

wow...that's crazy...are the human smuggler's that brazen to do it during the day?

fountainemp

your boat used to be offered in a govt model. sounds like a exciting afternoon. we usually get stopped at night up here. i have been stopped so much we got to know the guys on a first name basis. i'm glad you didn't get any tickets or jail.

THEJOKER

You in the back of a police car , now that would be funny. I'll call you tomorow bro!

happy hours

Wow Mike, sound like a pretty exciting Wednesday afternoon. Glad it worked out OK and they were cool once they saw you were legit. We got boarded in KW once over the weekend of 4th of July, we were one of about 15 boats leaving the marina in the am. in a line and got pulled outta line. We were the only boat that had women on it, (every other boat was dudes going fishing). My buddy made a gender specific "random search" joke and the Coasties laughed and said they just liked the wake board boat. Yeah right. :-). Bottom line is that they too were very courteous and polite to us after paper work etc. was verified. I wonder if they are more serious here (TPA Bay) because of McDill.

BoatinBabe

"These Coast Guard guys were actually very polite and nice." I have one question for you... Were they hot??

What a day.. but what an awesome story to tell! Gladcha got your boat out on time and stayed out of the slammer!

kr1276

I got boarded by the Coast Guard on Friday of Labor Day weekend in Tampa Bay on the way to Sarasota for a poker run. I was just north of the skyway when all of a sudden I had three CG boats coming at me. Scared the crap out of me too. I have a CG Aux inspection sticker that was less than 2 months old. They did not care. They also were very polite but said they were inspecting every boat they stopped. They went through all of my papers, checked all equipment, took pictures of us and the boat for one of their boarding manuals and issued me a certificate that was good for 24 hours. They said that if we got stopped after 24 hours that I would have to go through the whole process again. Things are certainly changing over here on the West Coast!

Johno

Fun day Mike I don't even like going too far off shore anymore. This is what you get for owning a CC just think if they had dispatched a Blackhawk....you would have been cleaning both your shorts & the boat tonight...lol.
A buddy of mine got pulled over just off Shell Island with 2 girls. They checked his gear & never said anything about the girls being naked. Half the time they are just bored & atleast you gave them something to do...lol

CigDaze

Hey Mike, I've had the same exact experience with those guys. Good thing though I was friendly with them from Fish Tales and they kind of knew me (I did a volunteer safety inspection a few months prior with the CG so that helped).

I was cruising along at about 70, glanced back and saw the CG just motoring along. I thought nothing of it and kept going. 20 minutes later, we slow down to hang out for a bit and watch the sunset and they come barreling down on me. They said that they were following me for an hour (ya, right) and that I was disobeying a government order. I said no way, I was just cruising along, and I never knew that they were trying to stop me. Same thing, no lights, no nothing.

Long story short, after a few tense minutes with guns drawn, etc., we came to a resolution and they let me on my way.

Cool guys, but damn, it's enough to freak you out.

100-Plus

In the "War on Drugs," the Coast Guard has been enlisted as on-water law enforcement. Regardless of how you view our progress in that particular war, it is not a job to which the fine men and women of the Coast Guard are all that well suited. They do it because it has become part of their mission, they're following orders, but none of the Coast Guard people I've spoken enjoy the role. Have to admit, I've only talked to a few. Maybe the majority are into it ... but I don't think so.

Most would rather be rescuing people at sea, a job at which the Coast Guard is unmatched. The whole smuggling interdiction thing ... I'm not saying they're not good at. I am saying the majority of their training is not dedicated to it.

Your boat fits the smuggling profile, and that you appeared to be "running" from them didn't help. But you know, it's a credit to you and them that everyone kept their heads.

Glad it turned out all right.