Boarded by USCG

[tom5518]

Yes they are government employees but usually trained better than most.

FWIW.

They put their lives on the line for us without hesitation. We pay them little above poverty wages. We complain about their doing their job if it inconveniences us yet we allow other government employees to screw us over many times worse and we pay them big bucks plus perks and benefits.*

Next time you want to bitch about the coasties or our military take a minute and think about our over paid self righteous government officials who can't answer basic questions truthfully, won't take responsibility for their actions and screw us over any chance they get.

I have known many coasties over the years and count a couple as good friends. It isn't a question of whether or not they are good people. It is a matter of them having too much power over law abiding citizens out on a pleasure vessel. I have witnessed them many times detain a boat for over an hour doing a "safety check". BS. They are looking for drugs. I wouldn't have a problem with that except they always seem to pull over the wrong boats. It isn't rocket science to be able to tell the difference between a family out for a boat ride and the coke heads who go boating.

 

[captddis]

Exactly! They come aboard under the guise of safety and in fact conduct a warrantless search.

I don't know anyone who keeps their flares or PFD's in their underwear drawer.

 

[Boatsb]

Maybe I never had the pleasure of the full search. 10 minutes and done. No going through the boat. No bs. Just safety gear. Not even the toilet check.

My point was more to the fact that other government employees seem to do whatever they want outside of law enforcement yet do not answer for their actions. From the top down we have a very irresponsible government that does not play by rules.

 

[krush]

Yes they are government employees but usually trained better than most.

FWIW.

They put their lives on the line for us without hesitation. We pay them little above poverty wages. We complain about their doing their job if it inconveniences us yet we allow other government employees to screw us over many times worse and we pay them big bucks plus perks and benefits.*

Next time you want to bitch about the coasties or our military take a minute and think about our over paid self righteous government officials who can't answer basic questions truthfully, won't take responsibility for their actions and screw us over any chance they get.

This is complete BS. Comparing the to other .gov employees is irrelevant. Most other .gov employees can't put me in handcuffs and shoot me.

Second, the military/USCG lifes on the line mantra is silly too. Statistically, construction, a truck driver, and many other jobs are more dangerous than these. Poverty? Look at the pay charts AND include housing allowances. Using the military pay calculator (http://militarypay.defense.gov/pay/calc/index.html), an E1 with 1 year of service (everybody knows e1 isn't an e1 for long) is

Monthly Annual
Basic Pay $1,467.60 $17,611.20
BAS $325.04 $3,900.48
BAH $860.00 $10,320.00
Cash Total $2,652.64 $31,831.68
Tax Advantage 207.22 2,486.63
Regular Military Compensation 2,859.86 34,318.31

Let's step back for a second. This is an 18 year old making $32k gross (equal to about 34,300 due to no tax on allowances). That's $16 an hour. Oh, full benefits, pension after 20 years....and they VOLUNTEERED for it.

How about an e5 with 10 years. This is totally obtainable for an "average" person. Oh, these numbers are for single folks. Family allowances are given for married folks.

Monthly Annual
Basic Pay $2,947.50 $35,370.00
BAS $325.04 $3,900.48
BAH $1,158.00 $13,896.00
Cash Total $4,430.54 $53,166.48
Tax Advantage 398.46 4,781.49
Regular Military Compensation 4,829.00 57,947.97

Yes poverty indeed, when the average wage is about $10.50 an hour in the US and income for somebody with a high school diploma is much lower. The median household income in the USA is reported to be 50k. That's household...not individual.

I won't even bring up officer pay scales.

The point is, they chose their job. They aren't poor. The military is a bureaucracy.

 

[captainwjm]

Nice to see that I'm not the only liberal on this forum. Bernie Sanders 2016!

 

[tom5518]

Maybe I never had the pleasure of the full search. 10 minutes and done. No going through the boat. No bs. Just safety gear. Not even the toilet check.

My point was more to the fact that other government employees seem to do whatever they want outside of law enforcement yet do not answer for their actions. From the top down we have a very irresponsible government that does not play by rules.

Indeed, you have not had the "pleasure" of the full search.

While other government employees may not play by the rules, the big difference is that the Coast Guard is playing by the rules when they detain a vessel for however long they feel like. They have every right to search your vessel at their will with no probable cause. Unless it has changed, they may also do whatever they feel like in searching, including taking a power saw to your boat to open up hidden areas to check for drugs. OOPS, I meant to say see if you keep your flares there. They may also impound your boat if they feel like it. Again, with no real cause or due process.

The other difference between them and civilian government employees is that I have yet to see the other employees out on the water on a Sunday afternoon ready to wreck someone's day.

 

[captddis]

Actually most here are Conservative and we want less govt.

 

[z28jimi]

Not a valid argument. Unless they are literally rated on how many random boardings they do each day and will be fired, doing their jerrbbbb is a BS rationalization. You know who else was just doing their job, a bunch of gas chamber operators.

First, it's good to know who I must run future arguments past in order to have them vetted for validity. Second, I still appreciate the fact that in this country, I am entitled to hold and even express my opinion and my BS, as are you. And third, no matter what you think of the boarding policy that I still maintain is a product of DC, not the guys in the boats, comparing members of the US Coast Guard to a pack of Nazi death camp turds is a bit harsh, don't you think?

 

[krush]

........And third, no matter what you think of the boarding policy that I still maintain is a product of DC, not the guys in the boats, comparing members of the US Coast Guard to a pack of Nazi death camp turds is a bit harsh, don't you think?

DC legislatures make the laws, not the procedures! Leadership within the organization does this....

And the analogy may be hyperbole, but I think it is valid. Our civilization is based upon common sense and judgement. "Just doing my job" is a cop out excuse--especially when your boat is seized, your interior destroyed, nothing is found, and nobody will pay for the repairs.

 

[MikeP]

Hmm, I think there might be some open bottles of some sort of spirits on board...

Re that - one thing I have often wondered about is the distinction between the boat as a vehicle and the boat as a home. Things that are not legal in a car - open alcohol, for example - ARE legal in your home.

Is the boat a vehicle or is it a home? It seems to depend on who you ask. Obviously, if the distinction is totally discretionary on the part of the law enforcement individual at the time, that's wrong.

It is my understanding that in MD, operating the boat while intoxicated is the same as DUI in a car. But I was not aware of any issue with HAVING open alcohol on board. I wonder if there is something where a small boat - like a runabout - is considered differently in that regard from a boat with berths/heads/galley or whatever...

 

[Artzco]

actually most here are conservative and we want less govt.

amen...!

 

[Boatsb]

To clarify.

I'm not for the unnecessary boarding and search but depending on where you are it may be deemed necessary.

We have boats coming in from outside us waters all the time. They have foreigners on board. They are run by and staffed with foriegners. They get less attention from the coasties than we do. Maybe I'm recognized by the local guys who wave and say hello. Maybe I look harmless. In the end we get more boardings from state and local law enforcement than the CG.

 

[krush]

Re that - one thing I have often wondered about is the distinction between the boat as a vehicle and the boat as a home. Things that are not legal in a car - open alcohol, for example - ARE legal in your home.

Is the boat a vehicle or is it a home?

Your car, a vehicle, can't be searched without probable cause. "May I look in the trunk?"...say no, it works.

 

[rsmith]

Hmm, I think there might be some open bottles of some sort of spirits on board...

Re that - one thing I have often wondered about is the distinction between the boat as a vehicle and the boat as a home. Things that are not legal in a car - open alcohol, for example - ARE legal in your home.

Is the boat a vehicle or is it a home? It seems to depend on who you ask. Obviously, if the distinction is totally discretionary on the part of the law enforcement individual at the time, that's wrong.

It is my understanding that in MD, operating the boat while intoxicated is the same as DUI in a car. But I was not aware of any issue with HAVING open alcohol on board. I wonder if there is something where a small boat - like a runabout - is considered differently in that regard from a boat with berths/heads/galley or whatever...

Just saying! Open container is an open container no matter where it is. How about if your at anchor had a couple all of a sudden here comes those nice young coasties. Are you BUI? Is command demanding more enforcement actions to justify their existence? Sometime after 911 the mission became Law enforcement. There are quite a few lawsuits resulting from their failure to respond or running over someone because they were in a hurry to give out a violation. I'm sure I'm not the only one whose watched them blow through a manatee zone and wake everyone just to catch some poor sucker that's going a quarter knot over idle speed. I've been in the USCG AUX since I was 16 and in all these years of interacting with the guard this is the worst I've seen it. If your opinion is based on the ministry of propaganda's "tales of the USCG" series maybe you should google some of the accidents and enforcement actions. Funny how that TV show came out right after that family died on a sailboat that called and called mayday over and over with no response from the "coasties" if I remember right the investigation concluded that the CG failed to maintain adaquate watch on ch16.
Do you have the same rights as your home or even car? Absolutely NOT!!! And if they inform you that the drill team is on its way,don't expect a marching band!

 

[captainwjm]

Actually most here are Conservative and we want less govt.

Really? Gee, I couldn't tell.

 

[z28jimi]

Methinks a nerve hath here been struck.

 

[MikeP]

"Just saying! Open container is an open container no matter where it is."

I just did some research. Per MD state law, there is nothing illegal about drinking/having open alcohol containers on a boat. The only thing that is illegal is operating the boat with a blood alcohol level at/above .08. So there is no open carry issue on a boat in MD. Obviously, different states have different laws.

 

[Sharon Jean]

A question for anyone who has been boarded by the Coast Guard for a safety check - Did you have a current CG Auxiliary Courtesy Inspection decal displayed? I know the courtesy inspection is not a guarantee against being boarded, but I'm curious how effective it really is against a random safety check.

 

[thoward]

Sometime after 911 the mission became Law enforcement.

This! There is a CG station in Ft. Pierce 100 yards from my old marina yet, Homeland Security keeps their 39' Midnight Express and maintains an office at the marina. There are 2 Sheriff boats in that same marina and there is a City boat 1/2 mile away. FWC is a regular in the inlet too. The Sheriff and City do a good job of patrolling the crowds but for some reason, CG likes to go play cops. Homeland is heavily armed and pretty aggressive when they board boats. I have never seen them return to the dock with anyone...

 

[Garyd1]

Nice to see that I'm not the only liberal on this forum. Bernie Sanders 2016!

Well if you support Bernie the communist then you hate boating, what he considers rich people and most of what is good about America. He is clueless! He wants huge government and class war fare. He is going to switch to a dumocrat to see if he can gain enough votes. He has no clue idea about foreign affairs. He comes up with sound bites that sound good but are pure BS as he will need to raise everyones taxes 200% to pay for everything. He will raise taxes on fuel and boat sales big time.