Publish Date: Monday, April 20, 2009
Location: St. Augustine, FL
Coordinates: 29° 50.977′ N 81° 18.266′ W
We have been boarded twice by the U.S. Coast Guard in the last month. I’m hoping it’s our groovy looking
boat, and not that the characters aboard look shady. Our first boarding was early morning, near the Lake Worth Inlet, upon our arrival back in the States from the Bahamas. Our second boarding was two days ago in the ICW as we were cruising from Cocoa, FL to St. Augustine.
Both times the boarding officers were professional and friendly. I must say it still makes your heart race a bit, when you here over the radio, “Three@Sea, Three@Sea, this is the U.S. Coast Guard on your port stern.” Our first boarding makes sense as it was early in the morning, at a prime inlet for people coming in from the Bahamas. Since our last port of call had been the Bahamas, it is very typical to get boarded. That boarding was really just a documentation check, with a cursory look over the boat. All of our paperwork checked out, and there were no warrants for our arrest (good to know), so we were free to go on our merry way.
The second boarding was a full safety inspection: life jackets, throwable PFD, fire extinguishers, flares, oil and discharge placards, bilge inspection, head valves, etc. Fortunately we take these things very seriously, and we had everything up-to-date and in proper working order. We received a written report of our boarding and complete inspection, which should be good for the next year if we are boarded again.
The first time we were all a little nervous, and not sure what to expect. In both instances, Dave was at the helm, and instructed to maintain course and speed as we were boarded and inspected. Ayla was pretty unnerved by the first boarding, but was super helpful in showing the officers around during our second boarding. It is important to remember these young men and women are doing their jobs in helping to keep our borders and waters safe. They have earned our gratitude and respect.
Apparently the issue these days is not so much drugs, but human trafficking. People from all different countries make their way to the Bahamas in the hope they can be smuggled into the U.S. We hear the going rate is about $50,000 per person. If we get boarded again in the near future, I’m going to add Number of Boardings to our By The Numbers page on our website. 🙂
What a great blog! Thank you. We are culminating another great school year. Cliff really likes Summit, and Summit really likes Cliff. Yearbook is done.
We miss you.
The Lesters
I have been following your travels off and on over the last 6-8 months it seems. Imagine my suprise as I passed you in my 32′ sailboat as you were being boarded in Ponce inlet ! As I passed they were all over your boat and following in their boat. I saw the name on the back and commented to my crew, Hey I know that boat!and told them a bit of your story. On the weekends the coast guard is almost always boarding in the inlet area.
Hi Joe!
Thanks for the note. We were surprised as well. The good news is these young men and women are out doing their job trying to keep our waters and borders safe. I’d like to think we have a cool looking boat to board versus a suspicious one. 🙂 Thanks for sharing our journey with us.