Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

yss -
on his recommendation I just bought both on Amazon.com. $6.00 for Turn the tides, and $30 for speed kills.
Turn the tides was used hardback, speed kills was used paperback - figure I'll buy the hardcover if I really like it ($100) and set it next to "the king of thunderboat row on my coffee table.

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

9,500 #'s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a weekend in Key West that would be.

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

thank you.

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

wow i love this thread the best thread in a while atleast for me. i so wish i lived my 20's in the miami vice era like most of yall :evilb: . magnum mark spit out some good ch*t i know ya have to know some

donz jr mike

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

Donz Jr. - I was in my teens, but a very cool time.
My Dad was a "cruiser boater", but I learned alot about Lake Erie.
And I read all his magazines cover-to-cover.
You are living a dream most of us didn't have the chance to, I hope you appreciate it.
You're a young man that has run a Cig - can't say I've ever done that, BUT I WILL!!

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

i remember a story about a miami beach bartender a neuclear physisist and a geoligist.they all had rottwielers at a local dog show in miami one winter.in the competition the dog had to exibit what it learned from its master.well to make a long story short the geoligist dog went first.they gave him a box of dog biskits. the dog opens the box takes out the biskits and procedes to asymble the biskits into a terontasours rex.the crowd is very impressed.next the physist dog opens his biskits and does some long equation using the biskits.more applause from the crowd.next the bartender dog very carefully opens his biskits moves them into a pile and carefully grinds them into a fine powder makes two lines sniffs them fugks the other two dogs and calls in sick to work...............

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

In the summer of 1980 I was approached by a guy named "Manny" to perform some routine maintenance work on his 36' Cigarette. The boat was a very dark green with no name, no cabin and one large center hatch in the foredeck. I think the engines were 400 Cyclones with #3 SSM drives.
Manny told me to do everything to this boat as if it were my own.
I did the complete service with oil changes, full tune-ups, impellers, etc.
Price was never discussed and he paid the bill with no question.

I didn't hear from him for a few months. I was pretty naive back then and I never questioned what a boat like that was for. I never asked any questions about it and I guess Manny liked that. He was very happy with my work and I assumed he had me checked-out, because the next time he called he told me what the program was and offered me $120,000 to ride along next time in case something needed fixing. I was married back then with two young sons and I just couldn't take a chance of embarrassing my family by becoming a criminal. Besides, what's cheaper, $120,000 or a bullet in my head and now I'm fish food?

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

I got a Miami Vice boat ;) :eek: :cool:

Good thread BTW

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

ed were you working at everglades when the feds took over the marina looking for an escapee.whom i believe they apprehended at the marina.that might be a good story...............

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

Turning the Tide is by Sidney Kirkpatrick. Check ebay and Amazon.
Speed Kills is by Jay Harris. Just bought a rough copy on ebay for about 20 bucks. The origional price when new was $5.95. :(

Anyway you may have to check back at ebay and amazon periodically since they are out of print and not always available.

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

Ed,You're probably lucky you didn't get shot for not going!Must have been tempting though.It was for me."Every time I try to get out,they pull me back in!"The Soprano's.... BOB , Captain of the BaDaBing

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

I heard quite a few interesting storries from an ex Miami Sea Tow employee....unfortunatly none of them involved fast boats :(

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

my thoughts exactly . . . great thread !!

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

Ran out of gas one night in the Houston ship channel under the Baytown Bridge, I anchored up just on the side of the channel. Well, about 7:00 am the coast gaurd jumped on my boat, I was underneath with a gal and we had to come up. They searched the cabin, the bilge and everything, what I didn't like was that 2 of them were walking on my deck with their black tennis shoes, left marks everywhere and I was concerned about metal filings or rust stuck to their shoes from being on freighters. Needless to say, they didn't find anything and finally towed me to a marina 1/2 mile away and I waited till they opened to get gas. These guys do mean business, especially after 911. TRichter Hey, you guys in Rillo Villa are probably very aware of the Coast Gaurd in the channel. Probably a few more stories, even though we don't run drugs. See my post "Help, broker stole my boat, what should I do? Thanks all

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

LOL! :D :D :D Mark, You tear me up! :D

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

Nice Magnum! I expect nothing less from ya!

Andy

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

IF someone ever told me a story, I FORGOT IT!

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

I agree let sleeping dogs lie. I think it was '95, but who knows what really happened, or where he really is, different people have different theories. Bottom line is the whole drug war is a joke.

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

On my honeymoon in the late Eighties, staying at a Bahama resort with a marina, I noticed, and spent a fair amount of time looking at, a Midnight Express that was tied up there. First time I'd ever heard of MNE, and it was stunning. It had been there awhile. The growth on the drives must have been 2 inches long, the gel was oxidized, and I kept thinking how this boat's owner was not using it, and might entertain selling.... I'd walked up and looked at it each day, sometimes more than once. At that point a Bahamian Police Officer walked up and asked what my interest in the boat was, and he was not as friendly as most of the rest had been to us tourists eariler in the vacation. But I'm too naive to know what's going on, and tell him about wanting to buy it.

He said "the owner's in jail for running drugs, and we wanted to know why you are so interested in this boat," and gave me a look like you're about to come to the police station and have a talk with us. Visions of third-world Caribbean prisons for drug offenders popped in my mind, and to this day I'm still proud I didn't wet myself. Never looked at that boat again the rest of the trip.

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

BCSEHOE: I was watching CSPAN senate hearings and a senator attacked a high ranking U.S. military official about failing to clean up the massive poppy production in Afganistan. The U.S. military offical retorted "those are the guys that helped us get rid of the Taliban."

Then another U.S. senator piped up "the British have been tasked in Afganistan to deal with the ..... production issues."

There was a very good Miami Vice TV show on the DVD collection about how the boss cop DEA efforts in Thailand ran counter to critical geopolitical interests.

Nothing much has changed since the British were in China with sailing ships. Best to just stay away from the whole mess in every respect.

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

In the winter of 2002, I took a trip in the Cafe to the Abacos, Bahamas, the Berry Islands and Bimini. In the Berrys we were desparately looking for gas for the run back to Miami and pulled up to this small island and asked a guy (he was on a cell phone) where we could get gas. A few minutes lator the local police showed up (he was on the phone with them) and decided we didn't look right and accused us of running drugs. My friend and I were separated and grilled for a while as to where we had been etc. Then they started searching the Cig and all compartments. I remember him walking down the center of the cabin and stomping down with his foot and commenting that it felt hollow. I quickly showed him the drain next to the cabin door and noting that there was drainage from the v berth area under the cabin floor. There was an awful lot of tension for about 30 minutes as to what was going to happen next as I pictured them with a chainsaw starting to cut. He searched all baggage (we had been on this run for a week and there was a lot of bags) and then proceeded to the engine compartement. The next thing I remember was one word from him to his superior "sattisfactory". It was a very nervous time when they were searching, but they were just doing their job and this Bahamian Police force was very professional. I think we were the talk of this little Island as they weren't too many people living on it at this time of year. The same guy helped up get gas, dock the boat at the marina for the night and served us drinks at the bar. He just followed us from point one to the other. A true story.

Ed

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

Link to some stories about Gorge Morales http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...hlight=morales

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

i remember his company aviation activities opa locka airport something about bringing wepons to nicaragau in exchange for uninterupted return loaded with contaband back in the ollie north days.also i believe he was on 60 mins.must have read it somewhere.........big voodoo guy ritchuals before the race.

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

A customer of mine at Everglades Marina got into some trouble and was doing time when he escaped. They knew he was an Everglades customer because the boat I sold him was confiscated. The Feds tapped our phones and were waiting the day he showed up. It was just like a scene out of Miami Vice. Scared the livin' $hit out of all of us.

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

like he said...........

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

Ten years ago I was camping in the Dry Tortugas and one night a super yacht shows up, about 100 feet long, and then three shrimp trawlers along side it at 3 a.m. I doubt it was a refueling exercise.

Then there were the weird green 2 a.m. signals that flashed from one deserted sand pile to another down there. Lots of strange sun god worshiping too on Garden Key at that time also.

I figured the isolated Rangers on Garden Key must have learned to not ask questions or they would be ..........

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

Come on is that the best you guys can do? Remember the statute of limitations fromt he 80's stories are long up....

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

I met this guy at a bar one night who was an ex seatow miami employee, he had several storries to tell, one I can remember well was, one night a big sportfishing boat coming from Bimini supposedly ran out of fuel about 6 miles offshore when they got out to the boat there was a 30ish year old captain on board, a 60 ish year old woman, and a 10 is year old boy. Being a tow from that far offshore he had to tow them to a coasty station for inspection where they later found the fuel tanks 3/4s loaded with dope.

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

Who is the author of Turn the Tide
Would like to find on amazon

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

Sidney Kirkpatrick and Peter Abrahams wrote it.

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

Any suggestions on how to locate
Can't pull anything up on amazon.com

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

You may have to go beyond Amazon since it is out of print. Keep checking and one will eventually pop up.

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

The system has remained the same, cargo has changed:
Cuban child dies when smuggling boat overturns off Florida
MIAMI — A 6-year-old Cuban boy died early Thursday after the speedboat he was being smuggled on capsized as the U.S. Coast Guard tried to intercept it, trapping him underneath, authorities said.

The other 30 people in the boat were rescued.

"This terrible incident is an example of the dangers inherent to illegal entry to the United States by sea," Rear Adm. D. Brian Peterman, commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District, said in a statement.

The 33-foot boat initially spotted on radar about 45 miles south of Key West just before 1 a.m. The Coast Guard cutter Dauntless pursued the vessel, but the boat refused orders to halt and was maneuvering erratically in an attempt to get away, the Coast Guard said.

The Dauntless lost sight of the boat briefly, then found it capsized with 30 people clinging to the hull. The 30 were rescued by two other boats and the cutter, and it was learned that the boy was missing. His body was found when the cutter's crew overturned the boat, authorities said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials were investigating.

Officials said the quality of the boat makes it clear that it was a smuggling operation and not a group of Cubans trying to leave the communist island without help.

"Small boats, very fast, trying to evade us — that's typical with what we see when we're dealing with migrant smugglers," Coast Guard Petty Officer Ryan Doss said. "We don't see these types of boats leaving Cuba unless they're smuggling."

The 30 survivors were being held aboard the Dauntless until a decision is made whether to return them to Cuba. It was not known if the boy's parents were among the survivors. Under the U.S. government's "wet-foot, dry-foot" policy, immigrants intercepted at sea are usually returned while those who make it to land are generally allowed to stay.

The U.S. government has prosecuted smugglers for the deaths of Cubans at sea. The Coast Guard was trying to determine if any of those rescued were the smugglers.

Alicia Valle, a U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman, said the evidence was being reviewed for possible charges.

"When any death results, but especially that of a child, this office closely scrutinizes the facts of the case," Valle said.

In another suspected case of smuggling, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said on Thursday it arrested five Cuban nationals on charges they were bringing Cubans into the United States for profit.

The five men were arrested on Wednesday aboard two boats that had stopped in the waters near Elliot Key, then tried to evade authorities in a high-speed chase before they were captured, officials said.


___

Re: Go fast drug runner stories.
 

Do a google search on George Morales /dea and you will find some interesting reading about the CIA's involvment with GM and the cartel. It actually reads like a Miami Vice episode. GM even got interviewed by senator John Kerry.