Quote Originally Posted by John Kepler View Post
If it's got a US flag hanging on it, is being driven by a Skipper with a US-issued license, or has a manifested cargo destined for a US port and/or owned by a US entity....then the US Coast Guard has jurisdiction ANYWHERE in the friggin' world!

The Cap of the LST knew he was risking his Ticket, but didn't really give a damn. What the Coasties had their panties most in a wad over was the age and lack of current sea experience in the crew, and that they were, IIRC, attempting to sail without a licensed Chief Engineer. The general fitness of a US-licensed crew is also the Coast Guard's responsibility.

Keep in mind....regardless of what you see on "Deadliest Catch", the Coasties are basically highly bureaucratized cops, not soldiers or sailors, and just LOVE sticking their noses into other peoples' business looking for revenue-generating "rule-breaking" that they can then write-up to justify their phony-baloney jobs...whether it makes a lick of sense or not!
Well, John,

There's more than one CG - it was put together from the lighthouse service, revenue marine and the lifesaving service, over the years. I served in two of the Coast Guards - I was a blue water sailor on 3 different high endurance cutters, and spent about ten months at Bodega Bay lifeboat station. The cuttermen are **sailors**, that's all you can say. I did some things I'm pretty proud of during my enlistment.

there's been a lot of "mission creep" over the last 30 years, what with the war on drugs, immigration cases, etc. and the lifesaving and support to navigation missions have sort of moved to the back burner. Also, I think a lot of obnoxious habits may be rubbing off from other federal agencies, now that CG is part of Homeland "Security."

I was proud, though, during Katrina. The only federal agency that responded in real time to the emergency was CG. Everyone else, FEMA, the states, whoever, was waiting for someone to tell them what to do. The east coast District Commanders and Officers of the Watch started moving planes and crews down as soon as things started looking serious.

When you get the call you have to go out. They used to say "You gotta go out. You don't have to come back, but you gotta go out."


jn