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Originally Posted by Gashmore  French registered Beneteau, 3AM 26 nm SSE of Isla Beata, DR in large following seas. BIG light from astern and a call from a USCG cutter to maintain heading and speed and prepare to be boarded. RIB appears on the Stbd side with 5 heavily armed tightly wound coasties, none over 19. Four attempts to board refusing help from our side. Two finally made it aboard while all but the helmsman trained their M16s on our boat. They relaxed considerably when they found 3 old farts making a delivery to Texas but wiped the boat down from one end to the other with sampling cloths. Besides the regular safety and placard check they examined our log, charts and the GPS track. Told us to maintain our course until instructed and left. The cutter followed us for about 20 minutes and then radioed that we sere free to go. Evidently they took the rags back to an on board lab to check for drugs. Whole episode took about 2 hours.
I would not want that job. |
I'm not sure of the waters you were in but the HELL is the USCG doing boarding a foreign-flagged vessel??...is where you were in US navigable waters????
Ok I just checked on Google Earth and you were nowhere NEAR US waters so what in hell are they doing boarding your boat??...if they tried that with me I'd politely remind them that I was a foreign flagged vessel in international waters and they had no right to be boarding me without my express permission AND they expressly did NOT have that permission. If they go ahead and detain me and board the vessel it is regarded as an act of WAR according to international maritime law. Am I wrong in this???