Coastguard helicopter causing a boat?
Discussion
I was on the ferry out of Yarmouth on the IoW yesterday at around 11:15am. There was a coastguard helicopter hovering over a smallish cabin cruiser that wasn't stopping. The helicopter was keeping up with the boat about 50 feet above it.
Was this a training excercise? I have had a bit of a search on the net and can't seem to see anything about it.
Was this a training excercise? I have had a bit of a search on the net and can't seem to see anything about it.
I was running a Sportfishing boat up from Venezuela to Puerto Rico, about a 750 mile run. On lining up the entrance to the old harbour at around 30 knots, this is at 03.00 and very dark, all hell broke loose.
A bloody great white light lit up the boat and about half a mile ahead. A US Coastguard/DEA helicopter had approached from astern and put their huge spotlight on me. Called over to the Customs dock, followed by a CG RIB, we tied up and they searched the boat top to bottom. They even made us blow up the dinghy and checked the fenders.
This is the problem when you've done the trip 3 times in one month in 3 different boats. They were just being delivered back to Florida after a seasons fishing down south, but it rang alarm bells to them.
A bloody great white light lit up the boat and about half a mile ahead. A US Coastguard/DEA helicopter had approached from astern and put their huge spotlight on me. Called over to the Customs dock, followed by a CG RIB, we tied up and they searched the boat top to bottom. They even made us blow up the dinghy and checked the fenders.
This is the problem when you've done the trip 3 times in one month in 3 different boats. They were just being delivered back to Florida after a seasons fishing down south, but it rang alarm bells to them.
Apologies if the original post wasn't very clear. I was multitasking at the time.
Basically a small cabin cruiser passed the ferry (I couldn't estimate a speed sorry)
Hovering above it was a Coast guard helicopter (a AW139 I think, but not great with helicopters)
The helicopter was keeping pace with the boat with the fuselage of the helicopter at a right angle to the hull of the boat.
The helicopter was around 50 feet off the water (maybe less)
The boat had a blue hull, but was otherwise unmarked.
There were no lines from the helicopter.
My initial thought was a training excercise but the whole thing passed quite close to the ferry, probably less than 200 metres. So I thought they wouldn't run a training excercise so close to a fairly busy shipping lane.
I will try and answer any questions, but I'm keen to know what it was.
Basically a small cabin cruiser passed the ferry (I couldn't estimate a speed sorry)
Hovering above it was a Coast guard helicopter (a AW139 I think, but not great with helicopters)
The helicopter was keeping pace with the boat with the fuselage of the helicopter at a right angle to the hull of the boat.
The helicopter was around 50 feet off the water (maybe less)
The boat had a blue hull, but was otherwise unmarked.
There were no lines from the helicopter.
My initial thought was a training excercise but the whole thing passed quite close to the ferry, probably less than 200 metres. So I thought they wouldn't run a training excercise so close to a fairly busy shipping lane.
I will try and answer any questions, but I'm keen to know what it was.
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