Re: come now

Posted by Petewp on Jun 2, 2007

I know this one guy. His boat ran aground in a storm off cape cod, or rather, on cape cod - on the rocks. Hull smashed. He radioded the police, coast guard etc. The exited the boat and began walking into town or rather where there seemed to be lights. Well the police car comes by and picked them up. They located the man and his son thru gps via the cell phoning they had doen to the police and CG. So far so good - wow - law enforcement at your service to aid your weary bodies and your wrecked $10,000, 25' boat. Then the coast guard arrives and all hell breaks loose...

Coast gurd told him if he didnt have the boat removed within the next day hed be fined $135,000 A DAY until it was moved. He claims he HAD to SIGN some paper agreeing to it or hed be hauled off to jail immediatly. No they werent giving a damn about the guy and his bloody son. They now had a shipwreck and thats all that mattered.

He signed it and came up with a couple thousand to have it removed the next day. The logic of the CG was this Im told : A lot of fisherman try to make a living in the biz, they fail and they ditch their boats all the time, leaking fuel in the process. The fact is clearly this guys boat is NO "fishing boat" in any commercial sense at all. It wouldnt even make a decent charter. didnt matter - they didnt want to hear it and they were essentialy coast guard nazis. He stressed their attitude was accusatory and threatening.

I was aghast by the whole story and asked him about several key points, including the fine amount. I frankly didnt want to bleieve it. The guy stands solid on everything. He was immediatly seen as a criminal and threatened as such by the coast guard. Mind you they were a bloody mess when the CG found them which hardley sounds like a dump and run. And if you were going to dump and run would you honestly call the police and the coast guard first?

I have a hard time reconciling this as I have a lot of respect for the CG. What makes it all so dificult too is that this guy is one of the most credible people i know.

Can this really possible guys?

Pete PS: Good Ending...

The guy pays $950 a year to have it dry docked on the cape and frequents it the way frequents a summer bungalo. He regrets its demise as a ship buty loves his new summer home!!

In Response to: come now by Charlie Jones on Jun 2, 2007

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