Norm: Thanks for the checklist. My surveyor dinged me recently for not having a "garbage placard" so off I went to West Marine and got not only a garbage placard but also a pollution placard absolutely free. The WM guy told me it was the only thing WM has ever given away. They are hard to find in the store, so you may need to ask for them.
Also, I have to think that having a CG Auxiliary inspection decal on the companionway door might be a good deterrent.for a real boarding. In three years of cruising, we have never had any contact with the CG and I'd like to keep it that way. Our only contact with law enforcement of any kind on the water happened last year in Boot Key Harbor. We got stopped at night in the dinghy by the FWC who asked us if we had PFD's on board and we said "yes" and they went on their way -- didn't even want to see them. It was pretty rough that night and I guess they were just genuinely concerned that we might capsize. When we do get stopped or boarded, I intend to be as respectful and helpful and I can be. If I don't like the way they treated me, I can always raise hell about it later. Meanwhile, they are the guys with the guns, handcuffs, tasers, mace, etc. Also, they are probably on emotional "high alert" when they board a boat and not terribly receptive to boaters with attitudes or doughnut jokes. Also, is it just me or are all the coasties 14 years old? Phil On Fri, Jul 9, 2010 at 12:27 PM, [email protected] < [email protected]> wrote: > > Ahmet and All, > > To prepare for a Coast Guard boarding you could contact the volunteer > sailors at the Coast Guard Auxiliary. They will inspect your vessel for > free and let you know of any condition the CG would object to so you can > have your vessel ready to smoothly pass a CG boarding. > > I have attached a scan of the checklist the CG left me at my latest > boarding. > > Things that are not on the list, that they have complained about but not > made an official violation: > > I had my life jackets (class one, with lights, mirrors, and whistles) in > zippered bags. They did not like that, saying that the zippers could > become corroded or jamb in an emergency. Now I have them in big plastic > boxes with no lids well placarded. > > They also told me I must have the *latest version* of the COLREGS (The > rules to prevent collisions at sea). > > I have heard reports of CG ambivalence on both sides on the issue of > carrying expired flares vs. discarding the old ones. I keep my old ones > but don't show them to the CG. > > I have heard of a CG boarding officer demanding that a EPIRB be housed > outside rather than in the cabin. > > I have heard that the requirement to have you VHF on when underway is an > FCC requirement, not a CG rule. > > When the CG folks come aboard keep in mind they are doing what they are > told to do by their superiors who are charged to do these things by even > higher authority. They cannot fail do what they are ordered to do and I'm > sure they hope you understand that. Our best course of action is to make > their job simple and easy so we both can be on our way with minimum > hassles. > > Although we have had some CG boarding personnel that were threatening and > nasty, they have been rare. Most of the CG personnel boarding Bandersnatch > have been respectful and professional. > > > > Norm > S/V Bandersnatch > Lying Gloucester MA > > > > _______________________________________________ > Liveaboard mailing list > [email protected] > To adjust your membership settings over the web > http://liveaboardonline.com/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard > To subscribe send an email to [email protected] > > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > The archives are at http://www.liveaboardonline.com/pipermail/liveaboard/ > > To search the archives > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > > The Mailman Users Guide can be found here > http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html >
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