boarded! .............................. from P

They looked like little kids dressed up as Coast Guard for Halloween. Except they had real guns. There were four of them tooling around in a big orange inflatable Zodiac. Behind them was a huge white Coast Guard Cutter ship, and up in the sky was a white and red chopper hovering! We were under sail, coming around the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge Tunnel, bringing Senara home from the boat yard. I thought to myself - anyone driving across the bridge viewing this scene must think that we are kingpin drug runners. This operation is probably costing taxpayers ten or twenty grand. That made me smile. All just for us! A 60 foot cutter ship, a helicopter, a 4-man boarding crew, wow! The kids dressed in orange came alongside us and announced that they were going to board us. OK - but we are under sail on a broad reach.....not much room to maneuver.......what do you want me to do?! "Sir, maintain your course and speed" they announced. With that, they pushed the rub rail of their Zodiac up against our newly polished hull and two of the kids hopped over the lifelines and onto our boat. The kid in charge asked if I had any weapons aboard, then commenced checking our ID and doing a "routine safety inspection." When they saw K and I smiling while proudly showing them around the boat they relaxed. They really were just kids. One of them had just graduated from the Coast Guard Academy last year. Turns out K had taught one of his classmates in high school. He grew up in eastern Long Island and sailed extensively as a youngster and his mom and dad currently sail on a Hunter 40. They could have easily been one of the many cruising couples we waved to while sailing the Long Island Sound last month. I pulled out our camera, hollered "smile" and snapped a few pictures. Nice kids. Eventually, after looking over our documents, life jackets, fire extinguishers, septic discharge system, flares, and tooting our air horn, they pronounced us safe. Whew! We all shook hands, thanked each other, and said our goodbyes as they jumped back into the Zodiac. K and I just looked at each other with wide smiles as we watched some of America's best (along with the rest of the platoon and air support) head out to find another sailor who might have expired flares.

The other two are already aboard

Steady on the helm ....... there is a white ship with a machine gun following. Cool!