I was boarded today
 

I was boarded today in st. Augustine Florida by customs and sheriff’s deputies. My wife saw them get close and told me we would be boarded. I told her they would hail us first. A minute later we turned around and three officers were already aboard with their dog.

They were all courteous, but, it seemed strange to be boarded without warning.

They just boarded with out a word spoken ?

Hmmm. Sounds like the were looking for something or somebody. I was once at a boat ramp where they boarded a guy the same way with a dog. They were looking for an escaped convict.

Where were you going from and where to?

Hmmm, did you ask them about not hailing?

And did you notice CG personnel with them?

I would follow up with a courteous question to Commander CG Station JAX (Mayport). While they were not under his command I would like to hear what he says.

Did you get any post inspection documentation?

General rule is to ‘ Ask permission to board” that makes for a totally legal find, if any contraband is found . By not giving permission things get muddy

St Augustine has a CBP training facility on the San Sebastian river so they are probably trying out their new skills perhaps.

You will see all kinds of CBP Le craft tear assing around town in high speed boats.... Kind of common now

Wow. Need more information

See last couple of pics in this post!

Marsh Harbour To Home, and Seeing Our Nation’s Finest At Work! | AtAnchor.com

If they had asked for permission to board you, it would have been purely out of courtesy. If you, the captain, had said NO, they would have stop being nice, escorted you back to a dock, detaining you until they got search warrant.

I have dealt with marine law enforcement for 20 years. I have never seen a boarding happen without some communication prior to stepping on board. We may be missing some facts.

Saying "no" would have probably enabled the reasonable suspicion clause of their contract. I expect boats are treated the same way as cars when it comes to searches.

Heading toward a totalitarian state, what else would you expect, saw the same attitude coming through customs from Canada. The fish rots from the head..

When you say hail...radio or just pull up next to you? Perhaps there is more I’m missing.

Customs/Border Patrol has similar authority as USCG. They can board you at anytime. They might ask "Permission to come aboard Captain" but they're not really asking.

That's why I asked his from and to as there's a very high level of activity toward those returning from the Bahamas right now. I have a friend who is a professional captain and they were returning yesterday and a helicopter pulled overhead. He heard someone say they didn't believe that was the boat but he then spoke and said he was the boat under the helicopter. They asked details of nationality of those aboard and made a boat to tell them to call when they entered but then he informed them he used ROAM and they said they'd see him there and that was the end of it.

The feeling is that they're on very high patrol looking for potential Bahamian stowaways. They've been put on a no tolerance policy.

If the police thought a murder was currently underway in a neighbor’s house, do you think they would knock on the door politely and ask if they could come in to talk about it? They probably had a good reason to board. Most boaters don't have VHF 16 on anyway. And I’m not sure I could hear them hailing through their speaker with the racket my boat makes.

So if the cops go to a crack house they should phone ahead and as a courtesy let them know the cops are coming. Sounds like a plan to me.

Huh? What did you say? Sorry, I'm old and hard of hearing.

you can't compare boats to cars or houses. Rules are totally different. Safest rule to follow is that if you're in waters open to the coast guard or customs, they can search whenever they want. I think that dates back to the 1700's and has been affirmed by the US supreme court 30 years ago. Much greater protections in cars or houses.