The Coast Guard makes routine boardings of vessels under US jurisdiction to check for safety and compliance with US regulations. After the captain of the cutter made initial contact, we provided information about our vessel, crew, and voyage. This is the next radio exchange that took place:
USCGC: Captain, we will be sending a boarding party over and were wondering if you would accommodate them.
WTP: Certainly, and we had an additional request. We run a website and were wondering if we could take photos of the boarding process.
USCGC: We've already checked out your website, and we encourage it.
The cutter launched a RIB (boat app. 20 ft long) with six Coast Guardsmen on board. Three climbed onto the WTP while three stayed in the RIB.
The first thing the boarding party did was perform an initial safety inspection. The crewmember doing the assessment announced "The boat is safe, although they desperately need to do dishes." Following this, ship's papers were checked and the boat was inspected for pfds, proper flares, fire extinguishers, etc.
The entire boarding party was exceptionally professional, friendly, and courteous. The captain had come down and told them about EYE of the World, so they were well informed (and we were quite flattered). Additionally, we were able to maintain our course the entire time, and the visit was a welcome distraction from an otherwise windless day.
We on the crew are incredibly grateful to all the hard work and service of the men and women of the United States Coast Guard. Their presence on the water is quite comforting.
FTA