takes a licking and keeps on cruising

When you get within a couple hundred yards of any ship in the fleet at Bremerton there will be an armada of CG and Navy patrol boats that will descend on you. I pushed the envelope one day and several appeared out of nowhere. Got right up to me and chewed.
 
Lloyd. Same thing happened to me. I was well past 100 yards away & a sheriff boat came charging up, lights flashing. They yelled & threatened & made a big fuss. I guess an old guy in a 15' sailboat was a threat to national security. Or, it was just another slow day on the water.
 
Rock-C":2kyjf0ak said:
Lloyd. Same thing happened to me. I was well past 100 yards away & a sheriff boat came charging up, lights flashing. They yelled & threatened & made a big fuss. I guess an old guy in a 15' sailboat was a threat to national security. Or, it was just another slow day on the water.
Click to expand...

Terry, they just wanted an excuse to get a closer look at that M-15, the little boat that looks so big. 8) :lol:

Coming around to the Mystery Bay channel entrance from the south I have cut the corner too close a couple of times. On one occasion, the fast boat whipped up along side, about 75 feet off to starboard as I was turning that way. I was running about 6 knots. They just continued straight ahead, literally hazing me to the straight line until I was past the corner and could make the turn to the entrance. It worked. There was no VHF 16 radio call, even though the radio was on, and the boat name is very obvious on the side where they could see it. (AND I'm pretty sure they had, by then, run my boat registration and new everything from my home address to my shoe size, my work and military history and how many traffic tickets I haven't had.)

Oh, there was a guy forward at the mounted M-60. It was not pointed at me, but was pointed up into the air. It would have taken him seconds to be real serious.

Harvey
SleepyC:moon

JC_Lately_SleepyC_Flat_Blue_070.thumb.jpg
 
They get pretty excited around Mystery Bay. There is some "interesting" stuff stored in those bunkers.
 
So Mystery bay is a ammo storage site. I was a ammo tech in the marines. 2311 ammo tech/bb stacker. I have pulled many nights of guard duty with a loaded fire arm in the ammo dump. That is in a ammo site that is set in the center of a Marine Base. Miles from the nearest fenced boundary to the real world. I can only imagine the stress of having a site like Mystery bay with out a buffer to the real world. Where any one can hike thru the woods right up to the site. Add water access and a large population and you have real worries.

Back to the boat hitting the ferry and whether or not it could be a terrorists attack. Terry and others here, including me twice, have been escorted away from The ferry or other areas. And we all complain that "yeah the old guy in the little boat sure looked like a threat" Well YES YOU DO. The USS Cole was hit by a wood fishing boat with two guys on it. Not a black fast attack boat with three 4000 hp yamaha's on it flying the Al Qaeda flag of stupidity. But hey we caught the guys that planned and killed 17 Americans and they sat in jail, Well until Obama released then for no reason but thats a discussion for another day and web site.

My point is don't feel butt hurt because the Coasties or the squids stopped you or hazed you on the water, thats their job and its a job you dont want.

But to get back to the purpose of my post, my how far we have wondered , dont challenge a boat that weights tons more then you, keep a watch out ( which is what this guy did not do) and remember to obey the rules for safety zones so the coasties can have a less stress full day.
 
Hear, hear!
 
Foggy":47v85bto said:
For the nay sayers on ricochet off water, from Wikipedia "Ricochet":

"Bullets are more likely to ricochet off flat, hard surfaces such as concrete or steel,
but a ricochet can occur on almost any surface, including grassy soil, given a flat
enough angle of impact. Materials that are soft, give easily, or can absorb the
impact, such as sand, have a lower incidence of ricochet.[3] Though it may not be
intuitive, bullets easily ricochet off water;[4][5] compare stone skipping."

Don't like the source? Try Googling 'bullets ricochet off water' for more of the same.

Agreed, off topic of this post. Just aiming to reflect fact vs opinions.

Aye.
Click to expand...

Oh man. I'd better go edit that wikipedia page!! :D

I don't think anyone is doubting that it can/does happen. I just don't see it as something that "will" happen. I've shot a few rounds into the water. The bullets go into the water. Yup. Lots of scary things can happen to bullets once they hit something. But these realities aren't likely ones that would preclude the USCG from taking such action. Rather, they likely have contingencies to accommodate this reality of physics.
 
thataway":2qza5hb4 said:
Do your really seriously think that patrol boats do not have live ammunition? A rumor about "checkpoint Charlie" from about 40 years ago, has absolutely nothing to do with the current state of readiness of the USCG.
Click to expand...

Okay, 30 caliber. Still seems dangerous to knock off 10 rounds at the Coleman dock as a "warning" to a possible threat, IMHO.

I haven't heard a Checkpoint Charlie rumor. What I heard was from a trustworthy man who was stationed there. It had less to do about readiness than with common sense (assuming international politics is governed by common sense). It would not surprise me that the CG is also bound by common sense. Of course, what constitutes common sense varies wildly when talking about guns. Some might feel more secure believing the CG has live rounds, others might not.

Mark
 
"So Mystery bay is a ammo storage site. I was a ammo tech in the marines. 2311 ammo tech/bb stacker. I have pulled many nights of guard duty with a loaded fire arm in the ammo dump. That is in a ammo site that is set in the center of a Marine Base. Miles from the nearest fenced boundary to the real world. I can only imagine the stress of having a site like Mystery bay with out a buffer to the real world. Where any one can hike thru the woods right up to the site. Add water access and a large population and you have real worries."

Tom, I have spent many nights at MBSP and have seen the lights come on, the response vehicle approach and the spotlights turn the area into daylight. There is a real fence, and electronic fence, and video surveillance of that entire island. I have seen kayakers "shooed" off, and even seals, (not of the Navy variety), repelled out into the water.

I have absolutely no problem with whatever the guys in uniform do or are doing to protect their turf or our homeland. It wasn't so long ago that a guy coming across on the Coho from Victoria was picked up for carrying explosives.

And I agree, the ferry has their protection zone, and we, the little boats, need to stay alert, maintain watch, and give way.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

11_SlpyC_in_Good_Company_2009_460.thumb.jpg
 
When you get within a couple hundred yards of any ship in the fleet at Bremerton there will be an armada of CG and Navy patrol boats that will descend on you.
Click to expand...

Same in Everett. We see the Navy patrols out there all the time, along with Everett PD and Sno County S.O. The Navy boats are not concerned as much with the inner channel, but they will quickly "pounce" on any boats that stray too close to the naval base entry. I have no problem with it.

As to live ammo, I can assure you that every single weapon on board PD/Sheriff/Navy boats is loaded and ready. This is 2016 after all and there are nefarious persons among us who wish nothing but death and destruction on us. They are here. Wake up.

Now do I think .30 cal rounds will be shot off willy nilly? Of course not. That's silly. But don't be so naive. The involved parties are well trained and well prepared to do whatever would be deemed necessary, depending on the scenario presented. The CG and the surrounding LE agencies in Puget Sound train together for such incidents. I've seen it.
 
Harvey what I was getting at is that on Base you have security for the base itself miles before you get to the ammo dump . A mystery bay you do not have the large, 5 miles at least, of surrounding security to cross. believe it or not bu there are thousands of square miles of Twenty nine palms marine base that you could just drive on to. Up to 95 when I left a lot of it was not fenced in the north west end. They would get two types of RVs camping on parts of the base. 1) Grand ma and Pa lost or dry camping in the wonderful desert ( bombing range to you and me) and the mobile meth lab. Loved the second type be cause the LE , with a marine grunt company as escort , would go knock on their door and ask them to come out side. If they said no you knocked again while a cobra hovers a 100 yards out with 20 marines standing around your rv 50 yards out. Works every time.
 
Ya Tom, I get it /got it and I understand. I have been at MBSP twice when there was all night air cover over the island. A C-130 (think Jolly Green Giant) on one occasion and the second was a combo of the C-130 and Blackhawk. Also there was a few flybys by the boys from Whidbey Naval Air Base. Those guys doing tight circles around that island will wake up aeven a good sound sleeper.

"... you knocked again while a cobra hovers a 100 yards out with 20 marines standing around your rv 50 yards out. Works every time.

Ah, ya gotta love it a Cobra for a door bell. :D :roll: :wink:

My favorite helo.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

0_CD_Cover_SlpyC_with_Classics_MBSP_2009_288.thumb.jpg
 
Just read an article that US Navy is retrofitting SAFE boats with artificial intelligence systems, so they operate as unmanned drones to keep warships save, and can 'Swarm" a threat.. This AI and system apparently can be retrofitted to any of the fleet's small vessels...!

Nothing was said about armament, I assume that they are controlled by a person on the warship--but it might also be a control point in a harbor.
 
Interesting as they are quickly liquidating many of their SAFE Boat 25 RBS. It is certainly a buyers market for one, and they are going with seats and motors now for under $50k, sometimes way under. They are very simple to control, and with electronic controls on the engines I'm surprised it's taken so long.

Man those boats are great, but really expensive to run. You'd have to be the Navy to have a "swarm" of them.
 
Dr Bob, Glad you see you still posting.

If they automate all these small ships then the control of them could be any where in the world. Most of the U.S drone flights are controlled out of Nevada or Germany. It possible to have the control switch from any where to anywhere.
 
Thanks Tom,
My thought is that the controllers have to have some "eyes on the water"--may be video cameras, radar, satellite?, or fixed place to see where to "Swarm" the patrol boats...

Certainly an interesting concept.
 
thataway":3qqk82mx said:
Just read an article that US Navy is retrofitting SAFE boats with artificial intelligence systems, so they operate as unmanned drones to keep warships save, and can 'Swarm" a threat.. This AI and system apparently can be retrofitted to any of the fleet's small vessels...!

Nothing was said about armament, I assume that they are controlled by a person on the warship--but it might also be a control point in a harbor.
Click to expand...

Considering what topic originally started this thread, artificial intelligence may have a tough time against true home-grown stupidity! :wink:
 
Back on the original post. Anyone hear what the final outcome was? Or still to early for that?
 
Colby,
There will be a CG investigation, and perhaps a NTSB transport investigation, since the ferry was carrying passengers. These take months to compile and publish. I suspect that preliminary hearings have been at least scheduled--but the final conclusions are often some time down the line...

Most likely Washington State Ferry system is doing their own investigation.
 
Bob, do you know if any portion of those investigations, e.g. hearings, is conducted in public? Typically, is a record of the proceedings published somewhere?
 
Back
Top