Boat owners say they were fearful during Coast Guard search

The Monterey Herald ^ | September 18, 2005 | VIRGINIA HENNESSEY

[Thud]

The witness said he and his wife were both asleep. You might try reading the story before challenging the posts about it.

"Jones said he and his wife were sleeping when they were awakened by knocking on the side of the boat."

The hour suggests a safety check was the justification and that they were looking for something else. There is a difference between 6-8 pm, and after 10 pm.

An El Al security specialist said that the Transportion Department's airline security check procedure was not effective save as a system for annoying people.

Coast Guard searches like this one - late at night as opposed to 6 am - 8 pm - arouse hostility and resistance by the law-abiding, and so are detrimental to real security.

[Thud]

At 10:30 pm that excuse does not wash. It immediately invites disbelief, derision and hostility.

[ladyinred]

Well, at least two of us agree on this. Good grief, everything from the administration is compared to Nazi's. It appears this nation learned nothing from 911, including many around this place.

[Thud]

It is a federal regulation. Marinas get complaints from neighboring landowners about violations of it.

[clamper1797]

Here's my new boat ... just got it last month ...

[Thud]

It's been legal since about 1792. Maybe earlier.

[PajamaTruthMafia]

What can I say? You SAILORS are a different breed. If I had a dollar for every sailor plucked from the ocean by the USCG I'd be a rich man. See, some of us power-boaters know you can do everything right and still be in mortal danger and there's only one organization that will assist no matter what the conditions.

[firequarrel]

Gee, this sounds like a typical day for the Florida Marine Patrol. God love em.

[GodBlessUSA]

What were the exact circumstances? The article leaves that out. I don't draw conclusions on one side of a story. Many comments are based on conjecture from comments two men made to a newspaper.

[Ramius]

Coast Guard searches like this one - late at night as opposed to 6 am - 8 pm - arouse hostility and resistance by the law-abiding, and so are detrimental to real security.

That's also why it would not be done lightly or without a pretty good reason. There was something else going on. I don't believe that this dude's story is the whole story.

[PajamaTruthMafia]

Nice! Formula? I own it's grandpa - 79 Formula Liberator, twin 350s with thru hull. Rebuilt her from scratch

[Thud]

The Coast Guard has a right to no-notice inspections. Normally they use it with more discretion and sense than here. It's the late at night part that has me honked off - safety and health regulations were clearly just a justification. That should happen only when they have tips from informants and grounds for believing that searching at that hour would be more productive, and I recognize from this story that such was not the case here.

The story indicates a different but still familiar pattern - somone was using his official power to express personal issues.

I supect what may be happening is that the Homeland Security Department's newness has resulted in less effective oversight of problem people.

[Thud]

10:30 pm says a lot.

[clamper1797]

Thanks ... That's a Formula Fastech 382 ... twin 500HP EFI's. GPS says I hit 81.7 MPH in it last week. I went 152 miles and burned 180 gallons of gas .... You have a very Formula too You built it ? Wow ... very nice

[stockpirate]

Boy oh boy Tonk, this article just opened up a whole truckload of idiots.

Next they will want to disarm citizens and police officers.

Boy, I love it when stupid just shines right out in the open.

I'll bet you all the liberal beer drinkers and just out right drunks didn't think twice about doing as they were asked, an M16 and 50 Cal will do that to you, don't you know. Hell some of those low life's may even have thought to say yes sir.

Gpd bless our BRAVE troops serving here and overseas, and the people who slame them can go wallow in SH**, where they belong.

[clamper1797]

I also have a 30 foot Magic offshore for grocery getting. It does about 75 mph but doesn't have all the creature comforts that the Formula has. The Formula has two big beds air conditioning refrig flushing john shower flat screen etc. It an 80 MPH floating condo

[Ramius]

PLuuuuuEEEEEASsssE, can you lighten up on kissing coastie A$$?

While A$$ kissing certainly isn't required... I'm very surprised to see the level of hatred for the USCG that I've seen so far on this thread. It's discouraging.

There are few examples of any agency that does *more* with *less* and does it with uncommon professionalism, than the U.S. Coast Guard. The NYPD is a larger organization than the USCG, and they must patrol an area many thousands of times larger. Yet they seem to do a pretty damn fine job of it.

[GodBlessUSA]

I agree. Typically, they don't board docked boats. At 10:30 at night, I think there is a very good possibility that something else is going on that's not in the story.

[Thud]

My mother took me out once in a boat she was a partner in. I hadn't known until then that she kept sea lions out of her catch with a .270 Marlin, which was thoroughly illegal. This was 30 years ago.

The Coast Guard has many legitimate reasons for inspecting fishing boats, including for firearms.

[porkchops 4 mahound]

Pard, if you had a dollar for every "sailor" the Coastguard saved you'd be eating beans, if at all.

As to "assisting no matter what the conditions", you repeat the recruiting slogan very well indeed, but we fish everyday in sea states the Coastguard will not leave port in, for any reason, even say to rescue a fisherman.

The Coastguard is a fine organization and it is full of good people doing their d@mndest for American and her people, but they do NOT walk on water and they are just humans.

But... blue water shell backs operate way beyond the range of the noble Coastie, and the bumbling boater.