Boarded by USCG 60 Miles off Key West

[Hillbillyfunk]

Originally Posted by Seahunter

My guess is that you were spotted as you left the marina;

My guess is that we were spotted IN the marina, there was a very fancy late model Dodge SUV with dark windows lurking about taking photos of US flagged boats. *Rumor has it 20 fishermen were stopped and turned back the day before the tournament, I believe the State dept denied several requests due to paperwork backlog and other red tape crap
*(Cuban TV)

Originally Posted by Seahunter

again I beg an answer to the question, what were your expectations?

I expected to get boarded, I expected to get a bunch of hate from old "patriots" and Cuban ex-pats, I expected to get GITMO'ed (and/or "disappeared").

I didn't expect te crew of Kodiak to be so cordial and professional, I expected them to act more like KW-FWC, I didn't expect the Cuban people to be so happy to see us or so friendly to US citizens, I didn't expect to fall in love with Havana.

I'm glad I got to go before the embargo is lifted as I fear that once it does Havana will loose it's charm and become Las Vegas South

[hummingway]

Come on fellows. Let's not put a hole in the thread and sink her. Be nice, respect others right to have an opinion and express yours without insult.

Thanks.

[Hillbillyfunk]

Originally Posted by psneeld

Very familiar with the 50...and only from behind the gun do you know if something is in someones sights...especially at night between 2 bouncing boats..

On deck from one of the bouncing boats I could clearly make out the gyroscopic mounts the .30 cal was on but couldn't make out the type of targeting computer it used

Per my limited experience behind the .50 I know that at a range of < 100 yards all it really takes is pointing the thing a target with about as much accuracy as skeet shooting with a 12 gauge, even a hillbilly from Arkansas can cut a trawler apart at that range.

the point is, I don't like having guns pointed at me, I don't like being shot at and I sure as hell don't like being shot at by any US LEO or Military agency, fortunately in this instance the only thing that was accidentally discharged was the commander of the boarding party's PFD.

[psneeld]

Originally Posted by Hillbillyfunk

On deck from one of the bouncing boats I could clearly make out the gyroscopic mounts the .30 cal was on but couldn't make out the type of targeting computer it used

Per my limited experience behind the .50 I know that at a range of < 100 yards all it really takes is pointing the thing a target with about as much accuracy as skeet shooting with a 12 gauge, even a hillbilly from Arkansas can cut a trawler apart at that range.

the point is, I don't like having guns pointed at me, I don't like being shot at and I sure as hell don't like being shot at by any US LEO or Military agency, fortunately in this instance the only thing that was accidentally discharged was the commander of the boarding party's PFD.

Big assumptions.....again I'll spell it out for the cheap seats...if only 1/10 of a degree off sighted...or less..a gun isn't pointed at you and from my vast and knowledgeable experience... your ability to tell that at night under what you call a blinding light enough to make water steam...you couldn't tell it was pointed at you as a target...I'd bet my professional career and life on it. Been there... done that ...too many times.

Plus you make my point...you don't have to be pointing at a target to quickly bring a machine gun to bear...anyone who has shot one knows that plain as day...and you were looking at all this at night with a powerful glare in your direction...I've seen these kinds of posts a thousand times and my gut always says the same thing...pissed off amatuer....

And yes you can cut a trawler apart...but only if the well trained finger pulls the trigger...

[Alecadi]

Originally Posted by Seahunter

"Re: Boarded by USCG 60 miles off Key West"; 60 miles from Key West is only 34 miles from Cuba. You figure it out.

Wrong: hvana is around 90 nm from key west not 34!!

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Alecadi

How please !! so they also killed all the eyewitnesses and their families also and they shut up the press , deported the CG who wanted to talk and they put in jail the CEO of wikileaks...etc... Are you serious?

To be fair, the US is well known to operate death squads internationally - so can hardly complain about folks in the freeworld being paranoid

But from OP's report seems the boarding was as harmless (and pointless) as these things could be. Albeit to my mind the most disturbing thing is the number of people who think it is normal, or "good" , and if that is how the US Govt treats it's own people it don't take much to understand how they treat others who are less well trained to accept Freedom at the point of a gun.

[Alecadi]

Originally Posted by Bash

What would have been shocking is if you had made that run at night and not been boarded.

Absolutely!

[avb3]

I have to assume you are a U.S. flagged boat?

To those that know, could the USCG board another country's flagged ship in international waters? My guess is no.

As a Canadian flagged boat, I would be pretty p*ssed if that happened to me.

And I would expect it once I hit U.S. territorial waters, which would be entirely legitimate.

[kevingy]

Originally Posted by captainKJ

and how do you know they never did,,,do you think they would tell the public if such happened

Conspiracy Theories: 1
Poster Credibility: 0

At least this was said first and I was spared reading the rest of the post.

[psneeld]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

To be fair, the US is well known to operate death squads internationally - so can hardly complain about folks in the freeworld being paranoid

But from OP's report seems the boarding was as harmless (and pointless) as these things could be. Albeit to my mind the most disturbing thing is the number of people who think it is normal, or "good" , and if that is how the US Govt treats it's own people it don't take much to understand how they treat others who are less well trained to accept Freedom at the point of a gun.

And no other countries do the same????

The difference is our "open" society is much more easily "can opened" by whistle blowers than any other..

So PLEASE give me a break that "others" are paranoid about the US and it's worldly intentions...

Plus the US needs to "quiet" the open boarder mentality...worked well as a colonial nation...ain't so good now...but "true" US Americans still feel that what is written on the Statue Of Liberty means something...we are just not happy what happened to the World Trade Centers...sorry if you can't understand why or how we will deal with it.

Since WWII we have bailed out about every country on the planet... so I think our intentions and actions should usually be supported (despite some our less than stellar politicians) rather than be questioned at every step.

[Seahunter]

"To those that know, could the USCG board another country's flagged ship in international waters? My guess is no."

When you're in US waters you can be boarded while sailing under ANY flag; as is the case in Canada. If you want to argue the fact that you may or may not be in territorial waters of any country while being boarded by armed representatives of the legal government, be my guest.
Hillbillyfunk Did you have one of these?
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg531/application.pdf

[Alecadi]

Originally Posted by avb3

I have to assume you are a U.S. flagged boat?

To those that know, could the USCG board another country's flagged ship in international waters? My guess is no.

As a Canadian flagged boat, I would be pretty p*ssed if that happened to me.

And I would expect it once I hit U.S. territorial waters, which would be entirely legitimate.

For what I know yes they can, there is agreement between the Caribean countries and the US to this purpose.

[Unicorn Dreams]

The USCG can board vessels of most countries, especially friendly ones. And can board any vessel in known drug traffic lanes, unless the rules have changed.

Never heard of a 50 M2 called a SAW, the hammer and a few more, nut NEVER a light machine gun...

[psneeld]

USCG boards a US flagged ship anywhere on the planet but in another countries territorial waters.

Non-US flagged ships in international waters need permission from home state.

Non-US flagged ships in US territorial waters...no permission necessary but so much politics are involved...usually a statement of no objection is still filed unless obvious that it's just a simple safety boarding on a rec vessel.

[avb3]

Originally Posted by Seahunter

"To those that know, could the USCG board another country's flagged ship in international waters? My guess is no."

When you're in US waters you can be boarded while sailing under ANY flag; as is the case in Canada. If you want to argue the fact that you may or may not be in territorial waters of any country while being boarded by armed representatives of the legal government, be my guest.

As a gun owner, I know well enough not to discuss a situation when the barrel is pointed anywhere near my direction!!! Politeness always works when one is not in control of a situation (sense of humor does too!)

Yeah, if I felt the situation required a discussion, it would happen long afterwards, and would involve representation by MY legal government. I have a pretty good idea what it takes to invoke that.

Getting back to my question, I suspect (but am not entirely sure), that the USCG would have no legal right to board a non-U.S. flagged boat in international waters.

Perhaps the question becomes, where does that authority start? 3 miles? I think that one went out the window years ago. 12 miles? I suspect this is the correct answer. 200 miles? Nope that may be the economic zone, but not a jurisdictional one for high seas traffic, AFAIK.