U.S. Coast Guard Encounter

After returning from Somes Harbor I had an encounter with a Coast Guard helicopter and a CG cutter.

Waiting for the chopper to take off from the Southwest Harbor CG station, I pulled out my video camera and started filming. I was about 500 feet offshore from the station. It took a while, but after finally taking off, the helicopter circled around and came surprisingly close to where I was in my boat -- practically overhead! As I focused the camera at the chopper, I saw the pilot's face and wondered why he seemed a bit perturbed at me. I surmised I shouldn't be videotaping the chopper. Actually, no. That wasn't the issue. Pulling the camera away from my face I was completely startled by a Coast Guard cutter right up alongside me! Didn't even see it or hear it because of the wash of the helicopter's rotors. And then I saw yet another somewhat angry face – that of the cutter's pilot – and he and those with him were waving quite forcefully for me to clear out of the area. Did the equivalent of one of those cartoon character "scramble" movements (others on the cutter were amused at my befuddled consternation) and fired up the outboard motor. Indeed, I did clear out – but only far enough away to continue videotaping. Both the helicopter and the cutter practiced a few rescue operations with a dangling basket and some red dye dumped into the water, and it turns out I was in the practice area. Hey, think about it: if things had gotten any further out of hand I would have swamped my boat and they would have had to rescue me! (Moral: keep your head in all situations.) Lest anyone doubt this story, I do have most of it on videotape. Wondering if it was legal to videotape government operations, equipment and facilities, I asked a Coast Guard enlistee the next day if it was OK. He said, "Yes. I was taping it too." Wondering if "Hummer" and I are in his video?

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