In cruising,you are bound to be checked out by the authorities,and i did not mind at all.they are professionals doing the job of protecting the waters,infrastructure and other boaters, ect.. in my @4000 mile trip, i had 11 encounters.; 1-sheriff, 1-harbor police, 2-parks & wildlife, 3- coast guards, & 4- customs & border patrol zodiacs.sometimes a full search & records check is made,others just a welfare and to make sure all the required safety gear is on board.my last contact was in belize city with the coast guard.while docked there for a week,we became good friends,and was given a tour of their zodiac,"a gift" from the u.s.( $ 500.000.00) in u.s. dollars.anyways,the encounter, i will not soon forget, occurred on my way back through galveston. i was moving right along well heeled over on a reach,when a c & b patrol boat approached from astern;"we are going to board you" they yelled.i nodded my head in affirmative,gave them the "ok"sign, and waved my arm with a "come on" gesture.they came up to the highside starboard quarter and one guy jumped onto the c-22's bench seat.then their zodiac hit my corner and spun me 90 degrees to starboard instantly.a combination of the zodiacs momentum pushing on my beam,and my keel acting as a brake,made theirs ride up onto and roll mine over,so that a huge amount of water came over the port rail.the guy that had jumped into my boat was now scrambling back onto his bow,thinking that my boat was going down.just as quickly as this had happened,they got theirs off of mine and she righted herself and i got back on course and to speed,whilest the scuppers drained.and again they approached,"we are going to board you",i gestured and yelled " come to the portside,low side".they did,two guys jump on ,we shake hands and smile.they ask me to slow the boat down, i release the jib and the search was on...and then they were gone. 2 b cont...