President Trump proposes to cut $1.3 Billion from USCG budget

[dgrafton]

What area and when were you boarded by the Coast Guard? What, in particular, did they do when they boarded you that gives you that impression?

Here's one:
This past year outside Falmouth Harbor, the Wednesday after Labor Day. Three friends on a 25' Searay, licensed Master operating. Heading to catch the sunset on their way back to Buzzard's Bay.
CG pulls alongside for typical safety check. FOUR coasties board the Searay and demand to see everyone's id. A half hour later they unboarded, oh, and the sun was already set. Ruined the whole afternoon since the purpose was to see the sunset from the water.



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[UNSUB]

Really? Did you know that 14USC89 states:



The CG can board ANY vessel. Without probable cause. "F/V so and so, we will be conducting an inspection of your carriage requirements to ensure you are in compliance with the law". Every day. Any day. There was a day we did 58 carriage inspections during Tarpon Rodeo in Grand Isle, LA. I once counted 5,832 lobsters on a trawler that did not have an incidental catch permit for N. American lobster. They ended up having 98 eggers in that number. Huge fine. Want to know why I remember those numbers? Because it was 1994 and we had rags called mustang suits for PPE and it was 17 degrees out and I was freezing my ass off.

Every different district has a focus.

You really haven't lived until you've done a boarding off George's Banks in February in high seas. Good times.

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[AntiHippie]

Here's one:
This past year outside Falmouth Harbor, the Wednesday after Labor Day. Three friends on a 25' Searay, licensed Master operating. Heading to catch the sunset on their way back to Buzzard's Bay.
CG pulls alongside for typical safety check. FOUR coasties board the Searay and demand to see everyone's id. A half hour later they unboarded, oh, and the sun was already set. Ruined the whole afternoon since the purpose was to see the sunset from the water.



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A four man boarding team, taking a half hour, and running everyone on a 25' boat is pretty lame. That could have been a 5-8 minute boarding without setting foot on the boat for a boarding team that had the advantage of some experienced influence.

If I was to venture a guess - every one of them appeared very young and fairly inexperienced? And unafraid of being awake until midnight entering shit into the computer?

 

[dgrafton]

A four man boarding team, taking a half hour, and running everyone on a 25' boat is pretty lame. That could have been a 5-8 minute boarding without setting foot on the boat for a boarding team that had the advantage of some experienced influence.

If I was to venture a guess - every one of them appeared very young and fairly inexperienced? And unafraid of being awake until midnight entering shit into the computer?

I thought it was exaggerated, but asked two of the three involved at separate times. Absolute rookies in full battle garb, the whole crew was armed including the boarding crew.

As a commercial fisherman, I have been checked a bunch. Never took more than ten minutes to check everything.


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[endus]

A four man boarding team, taking a half hour, and running everyone on a 25' boat is pretty lame. That could have been a 5-8 minute boarding without setting foot on the boat for a boarding team that had the advantage of some experienced influence.

17 feet and two guys came aboard here. Was kind of funny.

 

[Jason Flare]

Somebody apparently sunk a bouy near Block Island. It is alleged to have been sunk by bullet holes. The photo in the story shows rusty holes above the waterline.

http://www.marineinsight.com/shippi...-aids-navigation-shot-sunk-near-rhode-island/

 

[mac1911]

$9.3 Billion in 2016.

Ok so about 10% or so..... heck they could just make the CG guys and gals bring their own TP and pencils. Problem solved.....

I find it funny the rest of the non .gov empire has to deal with cuts and lack of funds every year but a.gov funded entity will fall apart trying to deal with just that.
Think a kid taking a high school assessment class (if there is such a thing) could find the gross in needed spending to counter the cuts. ?

 

[MarlboroughMan]

I own a place in Mashpee and I've owned a boat for decades (starting as a kid on the lakes in NH, then owned a 24' pos wooden boat in Salem Harbor, and after that Boston Harbor Shipyard Marina until I got the place in Mashpee). I run a small (20') center console and I'm on the water every chance I get. One thing's stayed constant over my decades of boating: Every single time I'm on the water I see some moron (or hear him on the radio calling for help, etc.) doing something that causes me to shake my head (or react for my own safety, or swear, get on the radio, etc.). It's inevitable. I've seen boats go up on rocks off one of the Islands at Boston Harbor (then watched as the "captain" opened it up to race back to shore), I've heard the coast guard trying to tell a "captain" to find his anchor because his dead boat was drifting toward the rocks (duh)... but the "captain" responded that his anchor was buried under too much stuff, etc., etc. It's just a constant sh*t show on the water and it's nice for me to know that I can hit the DSC button or get on the radio and get help from the CG if necessary (I do happily pay BoatUS, because it's a service and boating is expensive so to me that's just part of the cost of boating and for under $200 a year it's no big deal). And by the way, notwithstanding my standard 2A concerns, I have no issue with the CG boarding my boat at any time for any reason (I've been boarded once in all of my years of boating) as I'd rather they board as many boats as possible and deal with a-holes who don't play by the rules regarding catches, operating while impaired, etc. Those who've responded to this post who serve on the CG or who have served, thank you for your service.

 

[drgrant]

This is something I 100% agree with you about. Let me make something clear, I retired because I did not like the direction of the service. I was a SAR specialist, and to quote your "IMNSHO", a really friggen good one. I was certified to do LE, but did not enjoy it. And no, I don't believe I was being overly dramatic. If there is no CG, I would own no ocean going vessel. Period.

The RNLI is a great model of what the CG small boat units SHOULD be......

The problem is just like with most regular LE agencies- current USCG mission has been contaminated and perverted with enforcement of largely malum prohibitum bullshit. I'd rather have a USCG that people respected rather than feared/loathed. The 4A violating thing doesn't help at all.

-Mike

 

[MarlboroughMan]

The problem is just like with most regular LE agencies- current USCG mission has been contaminated and perverted with enforcement of largely malum prohibitum bullshit. I'd rather have a USCG that people respected rather than feared/loathed. The 4A violating thing doesn't help at all.

-Mike

Most of the boaters I know absolutely respect the CG and there is no fear or loathing other than by people who can't boat responsibly, fish responsibly or I'd imagine those engaging in drug trafficking, etc. When I'm on the water I'm much more likely to encounter an idiot who's putting lives in danger (on his boat or mine) than a CG or LE boat, which I'm always happy to see. The one time I got boarded was after I'd left the Sandwich ramp in the canal with my young (at the time) son and his buddy, who were so excited to fish that one of them threw a line into some working birds as we were heading toward the bay but still in the canal (and fishing from a boat in the canal is prohibited), so I had no problem with their attention, which was professional and respectful. Yeah there's waste and abuse in any big agency (government or private) and I'm sure the CG could use some improvement. But with thousands of miles of coastline, at a time when we need to be worried who's entering our country with ill intent (let alone drug trafficking and assisting the public and fishing industry when necessary), it seems counterintuitive to me to be making cuts in this area, particularly to an agency that is very well respected by most law-abiding citizens.

 

[Chevy 2 65]

Some percentage of the CG budget is for the war on drugs.

Here's a boarding of a US flagged sailboat 40 miles south of Colombia. You will see that their skin is swabbed for drug residue.

On another forum I asked a retired CG what probable cause did the CG have to search for drugs? natraps116 is the screen name of Don the captain in the video. Here's what transpired:

Originally Posted by Jason Flare If the coast guard only has the authority to board to inspect for safety issues and marine toilets and cannot search the boat without probable cause, what were they doing swabbing down natraps16 and his crew searching for drug residue? ETA: If I remember correctly, natraps16 said the call came in from Virginia to swab them. How did VA come up with probable cause?

I do not have the answer for that, sorry. I do remember this technology coming out before I retired, but I thought it was going to be considered a search (ie: required probable cause + exigent circumstances, a warrant, or consent).


And here's the video of the USCG boarding the US flagged sailboat 40 miles south of Colombia:




https://m.youtube.com/watch?ebc=ANy...7wCp6xZyjqOb0A&time_continue=54&v=JEEbIR2hBn4

What a ****ing waste of time. Just following orders of course !

 

[mac1911]

Most of the boaters I know absolutely respect the CG and there is no fear or loathing other than by people who can't boat responsibly, fish responsibly or I'd imagine those engaging in drug trafficking, etc. When I'm on the water I'm much more likely to encounter an idiot who's putting lives in danger (on his boat or mine) than a CG or LE boat, which I'm always happy to see. The one time I got boarded was after I'd left the Sandwich ramp in the canal with my young (at the time) son and his buddy, who were so excited to fish that one of them threw a line into some working birds as we were heading toward the bay but still in the canal (and fishing from a boat in the canal is prohibited), so I had no problem with their attention, which was professional and respectful. Yeah there's waste and abuse in any big agency (government or private) and I'm sure the CG could use some improvement. But with thousands of miles of coastline, at a time when we need to be worried who's entering our country with ill intent (let alone drug trafficking and assisting the public and fishing industry when necessary), it seems counterintuitive to me to be making cuts in this area, particularly to an agency that is very well respected by most law-abiding citizens.

I,have a question .....what happens to the illegals when the coast guard takes them into custody.
How many of them are returned to their proper homeland? Or are they brought into the U.S. and dumped into the system.

 

[UNSUB]

I,have a question .....what happens to the illegals when the coast guard takes them into custody.
How many of them are returned to their proper homeland? Or are they brought into the U.S. and dumped into the system.

It depends Haitians go back Cubans get asylum. It depends on their country's and their individual circumstances.

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[UNSUB]

What a ****ing waste of time. Just following orders of course !

Many times when a vessels ID is run it may in the past have been a seizure vessel or had some criminal activity attached to it. Its in the boats file forever so be weary when you buy a used vessel. Also if the vessel is on a watch list a lot of the time the CG is told to leave it alone bc the DEA or Customs or Homeland has a case on it. Its not as glamorous as its portrayed. Normal CG vessels generally get busts when they luck upon a vessel randomly.

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[Maxrobot]

I read that when Obama normalized relations with Cuba, it took the refugee status away from the escapees and they are now treated like any other illegal immigrant-- when before they were in a special class.