Boating Incident - Pulled over by U.S. Coast Guard

[yoyobros]

Boating Incident
State: California

Scans of Documentation:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v369/El-Diablo-of-dt/IMG.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v369/El-Diablo-of-dt/IMG_0001-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v369/El-Diablo-of-dt/IMG_0003.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v369/El-Diablo-of-dt/IMG_0005.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v369/El-Diablo-of-dt/IMG_0012.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v369/El-Diablo-of-dt/IMG_0016.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v369/El-Diablo-of-dt/IMG_0017.jpg

Well I left my name on the documents, I don't know if this is a bad idea.. but they mispelled it on every document anyways.


My story:

Well I recieved this documentation in the mail on November 10th. I have 10 days to respond and I think im going to reuqest an extension. I am definately going to plead Not Guilty and I am thinking of contesting this citation via mail with documentation and whatever evidence I can comeup with. However that will be extremely difficult seeing as how they have 18 pages of evidence and its been nearly 1.5 YEARS since the incident. How the heck do they expect me to remember anything from the incident? Or do they not want me to? Are they really allowed to wait 1 and a half years before sending me this information? I am going to have extreme difficulty recalling the incident.

I do remember the Coast Guard being extremely rude, I remember them tearing into every detail looking for violations. Such as the fire extinguisher, they asked for all the required stuff on my boat. One of the things I showed them was the fire extinguisher. They actually tested the damn thing till they came up with a violation stating the fire extinguisher didn't meet standards.

They really exaggerated the incident saying it was extremely dangerous driving. They said the vehicle was operated in a negligent manner and swerving and driving extremely fast.
The only problem with that is that it is a complete lie. As detailed as the report looks...My Boat barely even runs. it turns off occasionally, it CAN'T go fast. The entire engine was submerged and is completely rusted inside and out. The only way to even get the engine to start was with hotwiring the boat. To turn the engine the first time I had to use a crowbar and cranking the hydrolic shaft. It doesn't even go in reverse. I post almost weekly on the iboat forums looking for help on how to fix my boat.
heres the amazing engine they are talking about:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v369/El-Diablo-of-dt/6-27-2008pics048.jpg
Completely rusted inside and out. This is what it looked like AFTER a deep cleaning.
Anytime you even try to speed up the boat turns off.


One thing they were right about: the vehicle was overloaded. I didn't know about a limit on boats. I just read that it was supposed to be under 1000 lbs. It definately was under 1000 lbs. two of the people on the boat were female balet dancers who weigh about 100-110 lbs. nobody was overweight.

Another thing they were right about: Not everyone had life jackets on. I didn't know you were required to wear the life jacket if you were over 18.

All I can say is they were looking for any violation they could. All I can say is they seriously exaggerate everything they say. There was definately no "HIGH TRAFFIC" as they described.

One thing they did succeed in doing now is getting me out of the bay. I will never drive a boat out there again.. if I ever drive a boat again. Which I doubt. I actually plan on fixing my boat just to sell it. I've seen the way they act and I am done with it. I wish I had been pulled over by a cop in a car, they act much nicer to be honest.

I am just looking for help on what I should do. I am considering asking for an extension. And buying a new extinguisher, more life jackets, taking a class on driving boats( even though I don't plan on driving anymore, I think if I do this it will look good in court papers so maybe I can get a fine reduction), maybe I could get documentation from a mechanic stating the condition of the vessel so they could see the feats described in the description are not possible.

Please, any advice will be helpful. Thank you so much

-Jeff

 

[HomeGuru]

It is clear that regulations were not followed.

 

[yoyobros]

Yes regulations were not followed. But that does not mean they are allowed to tag any violation they want.

Lets say a cop pulled you over for swerving.

then when you get the ticket it says you were swerving, speeding, in high traffic. The seat belt did not meet standards.

Just because im guilty of one violation does not mean they are allowed to comeup with anything they want and make me guilty of that.

 

[HomeGuru]

Yes regulations were not followed. But that does not mean they are allowed to tag any violation they want.

Lets say a cop pulled you over for swerving.

then when you get the ticket it says you were swerving, speeding, in high traffic. The seat belt did not meet standards.

Just because im guilty of one violation does not mean they are allowed to comeup with anything they want and make me guilty of that.

**A: you are wrong in your case.

 

[yoyobros]

Well I suppose you are right in that I am wrong. Because they really can make up anything they want and I am guilty of it. but the fact of the matter is; my boat does not run fast. the fact that they stated I was driving fast really frustrates me because it is simply impossible.

so what is the advice? just pay for it?

 

[HomeGuru]

Well I suppose you are right in that I am wrong. Because they really can make up anything they want and I am guilty of it. but the fact of the matter is; my boat does not run fast. the fact that they stated I was driving fast really frustrates me because it is simply impossible.

so what is the advice? just pay for it?

**A: if there were no other violations then I would say vigorously fight it. But you can't say you were clean on this one due to overloading, no PFD's, improper fire extinguisher etc.
Do whatever it takes to resolve this issue.

 

[ecmst12]

They can cite you for any violations they discover in the course of the investigation. If you are guilty of the violations, you should just pay the fine. If you believe the charges are false, by all means fight them. But it doesn't matter why they pulled you over. And it's the same with traffic cops. If they pull you over for speeding, and you allow them to search the car (or they get a warrent), they can absolutely arrest you for the 2 kilos of coke or the dead body they find in the trunk. If they pull you over for a routine sobriety check and see you are not wearing your seat belt, they can absolutely cite you for it if they want.

 

[HomeGuru]

They can cite you for any violations they discover in the course of the investigation. If you are guilty of the violations, you should just pay the fine. If you believe the charges are false, by all means fight them. But it doesn't matter why they pulled you over. And it's the same with traffic cops. If they pull you over for speeding, and you allow them to search the car (or they get a warrent), they can absolutely arrest you for the 2 kilos of coke or the dead body they find in the trunk. If they pull you over for a routine sobriety check and see you are not wearing your seat belt, they can absolutely cite you for it if they want.

**A: good thing there was not dead body in the boat.

 

[FlyingRon]

The fact that your boat was an unsafe piece of crap isn't a defense.

You weren't cited for not wearing life vests. You were cited that there were not one lifevest for each person as well as a type IV (throwable) device aboard. According to the report there are 9 people aboard and only 4 vests. Believe me, counting life vests versus people aboard is a routine thing on any stop (sort of as automatic as "license and registration" on a traffic stop).

You didn't have your boat registration (if you in fact had it registered). This is like driving without license plates and registration

Your boat is placarded for 6 people and 1100 lbs. You had 9. Either way you were overweight. I can't imagine you were under 1000 lbs with people, refreshments, and what little safety equipment you had.

They didn't state you had no extinguisher, they said you had no approved extinguisher as required (yours was missing the gauge).

It would seem that your immense lack of boating rules, rules of the road, operation of boats, etc... strongly puts in to doubt whether you have clue as to speed, proximity to other boats, levels of traffic, etc...

I suggest that before your hearing you avail yourself of two things:

1. Bring your boat into compliance with the LAW. Put six vests aboard plus one throwable. Buy a new, USCG-approved fire extinguisher.

2. Have a USCG auxilliary courtesy check to see if you have any other deficiencies.
Address those if you do.

3. Take a USCG auxilliary or similar boating rules and safety course.

Throw yourself on the mercy of the hearing officer and ask for a reduction in sanctions subject to taking an effort to learn how to boat safely and responsibly.

Info available at USGS boating.

You may wish to take down or blot out some of the info on the photobucket images you linked to. Your driver's license number and phone number are visible to the world.