Recently a sailor submitted a letter to a Bay Area sailing magazine, alleging he (in a racing sailboat, flying a kite) had been charged at high speed by a Coast Guard gun boat, with it's bow gun pointed directly at him. Apparently, the CG was defending a cargo ship that was in the middle of the bay, which the sailor estimates was two miles off his bow. He thought this was overly aggressive, given the circumstances. Several readers responded, agreeing and telling similar (though less dramatic) stories of their own. One person, claiming to be ex CG also responded. First, he corrected us on the size of the gun. We thought it was a 50 caliber. He assured us it was only a 30, stating a 50 would have gone clean through the offending boat and one or two other boats that happened to be in the area. He basically went on to say, if they point a gun at you, do what they say (as if any of us had to be told this!). Though unofficial, this response speaks volumes.
Don't get me wrong....I'm glad the CG exists, and appreciate the job they do. However, I'm aware of a long list of situations in which they overreacted, acted inappropriately, or didn't act when they should have, IMO. Administrative communications I (and others) have had with them haven't gone much better. Is it just me, or is this agency out of control?
Edit: I'm interested in the experiences of other skippers. Please resist the temptation to get too political (difficult given the subject, but this is a sailing forum.).
Don't get me wrong....I'm glad the CG exists, and appreciate the job they do. However, I'm aware of a long list of situations in which they overreacted, acted inappropriately, or didn't act when they should have, IMO. Administrative communications I (and others) have had with them haven't gone much better. Is it just me, or is this agency out of control?
Edit: I'm interested in the experiences of other skippers. Please resist the temptation to get too political (difficult given the subject, but this is a sailing forum.).