Has anyone ever been boarded by Border Force?

[The Professional]

I was in my boat off the south coast. A boat marked Border Force came close and asked where we had come from, we had just come from the nearest marina, and then they moved on.

I was wondering has anyone ever been boarded by Border Force? What happens? Do they process passports? As I rarely carry mine.

 

[mel80]

Yes. Was boarded in the firth of forth once. Asked for my details and those of the crew, but did not ask for id and did not search the boat. Asked about passage details too. However, the main purpose seemed to be PR. They said that their work was generally intelligence lead and requested that I report anything suspicious or unusual to them.

They were pleasant and professional, but I've no doubt they were checking for my response when requesting to come aboard, and if I had appeared nervous they would have behaved differently.

 

[Minchsailor]

Yes, a few years ago in the Sound of Sleat, off Skye. Came over in a RIB. Very polite, but rigorous. Asked various details about where we had been, what we were doing, plans. Had a look around the boat, and checked our identities with their mother ship. Had a look at the log book.

 

[Sandy]

Regularly see them in Falmouth. Our home port is Plymouth and we are more likely to be stopped by MOD Police.

 

[RupertW]

Pre Border Force days so many years ago (at the end of our honeymoon), we were approached about 20 miles off Plymouth on our way back from Brittany. Rib with a couple of armed sailors, one who kept his gun on us, and a Revenue guy who came aboard. Arriving in a dramatic fashion behind them was some sort of Navy? patrol boat with a very sinister looking mounted gun which was also kept permanently trained on us.

They were looking for drugs, and kept asking if we’d come from Morocco in our 6 weeks off (in a GK24!) and said they assume we dumped our personal stash overboard but needed to check the boat for anything commercial. Why they thought we had personal stuff I don’t know, and think they probably come over having seen my new wife dancing enthusiastically on the foredeck to music from the ghetto blaster. Unclothed.

 

[slipknot]

I’m like a magnet. Probably 5 or 6 times in the channel. (French and British) Also when I sailed in Gibraltar. God knows why!

 

[jakeroyd]

Regularly see them in Falmouth. Our home port is Plymouth and we are more likely to be stopped by MOD Police.

Reminds me of one time when I exited Mayflower Marina , singlehanded, on a very mizzly morning.
Getting head to wind and busy raising the main I had not spotted a sub coming down the river.
The MOD Plod came over and ordered me out of the way. Very polite but very directly.
I abandoned my sails and intermediately, of course, motored out of the way.

Then spent an anxious few minutes sorting out the tangle of sails and lines.

 

[michael_w]

Yes, in Falmouth harbour (another reason to avoid Cornwall), probably because my boat has all the blue water kit. Their rib left grubby marks on the topsides.

Also boarded by the French customs off Cherbourg. Much more polite and they were amused by the quantity of Vin de France onboard. Passports and ship's papers inspected and a cursory look below. Also they wore sailing shoes rather than the Brits steel boots.

 

[LONG_KEELER]

We where boarded . It didn't help because the owner flew no ensign and there was no boat name shown. They were very nice and made a thorough search.

 

[The Professional]

Seems to be a common experience. When they come on board do they swipe passports like when you're at the border, do they check the details over the radio or are they just having a look at it? Is a driving license sufficient to provide for ID if not carrying passport?

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Not boarded, but obviously the centre of attention several times off Coulport in Loch Long and once off Faslane in the Gare Loch. However, in both cases the police patrol areas that are off-limits, and pretty obviously get bored out of their skulls on quiet days - a routine that consists of blasting to the up-tide end of their beat and then drifting down tide must get old pretty quickly! So when a law-abiding yacht with an obviously Chinese lady aboard makes its appearance, they sometimes decided that they were going to shadow us (at a reasonable distance). I think I did once get warned off when it looked like we might cross the line into forbidden waters. I've also been politely warned off a couple of times by the guard vessels escorting a nuclear submarine up the Clyde.

 

[maby]

Never boarded, but they have pulled alongside to ask questions once or twice.

 

[Graham376]

We've been questioned from rib alongside in Channel, Irish Sea and France, boarded off Ireland, Spain & Portugal.

 

[Sandy]

Reminds me of one time when I exited Mayflower Marina , singlehanded, on a very mizzly morning.
Getting head to wind and busy raising the main I had not spotted a sub coming down the river.
The MOD Plod came over and ordered me out of the way. Very polite but very directly.
I abandoned my sails and intermediately, of course, motored out of the way.

Then spent an anxious few minutes sorting out the tangle of sails and lines.

MOD Police are usually quite polite when an unpublished submarine movement happens we normally head well out of their way. I feel really uneasy about watching a sub pass.

 

[Elessar]

I’m like a magnet. Probably 5 or 6 times in the channel. (French and British) Also when I sailed in Gibraltar. God knows why!

Dartmouth 1982 was the last time, it was just called customs then and pre shengen so we had a Q up.
But they did visit every boat with people aboard in our marina about a month ago. I was coming back by paddle board so just delayed a bit.

 

[Sandy]

Dartmouth 1982 was the last time, it was just called customs then and pre shengen so we had a Q up.

Just ordered a Q flag as nobody knows what is going to happen with this Brexit shenanigans. Before I head over to France next year, assuming we actually leave the EU at some point, I'll be ringing the douane and asking what is required.

 

[Ohlin Karcher]

The UK is one of the few places I *haven't* had some interaction with the boys in black..

 

[vyv_cox]

We were boarded on our return journey from Brest to Penzance. It was a very wet trip, pouring with rain nearly all the way. The man who came aboard provided us with considerable amusement as he sat in the cockpit trying to write down the information we gave him on a piece of wet paper, using a Biro.

We were also boarded by French Customs in Calais but the whole thing was an excuse to film the uniforms doing their job. I wrote it up for YM, the whole thing was hilarious. Very long if you can be bothered.

Following a hard beat from Dunkerque in a westerly 5, gusting six, we arrived at Calais. Conditions on the waiting buoys were lively. With an hour to wait for the bridge opening to allow us into the marina we sat down to an extremely late breakfast. As we cleaned the last vestiges of bacon and eggs from our plates there came an official-sounding knock on the hull. Emerging from the companionway into the cockpit, I was greeted by the sight of an inflatable containing five red-suited people with “Douanes” badges on their sleeves. Several carried guns and handcuffs, leading to rapid agreement when they asked to come aboard. However, there was a twist. Would it be OK if a cameraman also boarded? We agreed.

The cameraman began to climb aboard carrying a very large camera on his shoulder. It soon became apparent that he had little experience of climbing aboard yachts from inflatables, especially when carrying large cameras. His initial handhold was one of our horseshoe buoys, not his best option! Displaying lightning reactions, a colleague grabbed the camera and a free hand as he began to topple backwards into the water. His scrambled arrival into the cockpit was accompanied by a loud hissing, popping noise and a notable increase in his dimensions. He had snagged the inflate toggle of his lifejacket on a guard wire.

Four occupants of the dinghy boarded us and the inflatable returned to the Customs launch that was lying against the wall opposite. Customs Man No.1 asked us to show our papers and passports, duly filmed by the cameraman. The information in the documents was copied to a paper form and subsequently radioed to the launch for confirmation that we were not known international criminals. Meanwhile, the inflatable returned with more people, who also climbed aboard. All were wearing the same red suits but it now began to be apparent that not all were customs employees, especially the evidently seasick one carrying a nylon fur-wrapped microphone

By now it was about ten minutes to the bridge opening time. The rather attractive young lady Douanier asked Jill to accompany her below to witness her search for drugs and contraband. Jill agreed, despite insisting that the search would be completely fruitless. I pointed out that we had to move into the inner harbour in ten minutes but was informed that all would be completed in two. When the amber bridge warning light was turned on five minutes before opening I suggested that maybe they should all come with us, since I had no intention of remaining outside. Following a hurried discussion they agreed and we began to hang fenders over the sides, then dropped the mooring buoy and motored in, hampered by seven extra bodies sitting in the cockpit. The young lady below took the opportunity of Jill’s absence on deck to remove two folding bikes and the ghoster from their bags in the aft cabin. We moored alongside another yacht on the visitor pontoon, with assistance from Customs Man No.2, but the others remained merely obstacles. The sound man looked greener.

‘Miss Douane’ began to search through various lockers, being asked questions by the director and filmed by the cameraman. The Customs men took no part in the proceedings. Below decks it became very warm due to the presence of five or six people, most of whom were wearing full waterproofs and plenty underneath. Suddenly the cameraman turned a bright shade of red and almost collapsed with heat exhaustion. Jill sat him down and helped him to remove several layers of clothing, desperately trying to hide her laughter. ‘Miss Douane’ diligently continued to search lockers in fore-cabin, heads and saloon, finding numerous articles that clearly baffled her, but nothing the least bit incriminating. It will be many years before I forget the look on her face when, after struggling with the contents of one bag, she held up a clamp-on vice for inspection! Many features of the boat, such as the need for netting across the shelf in the forepeak, aroused her suspicion and required explanation. We began suggesting other lockers that she might like to inspect but she was clearly flagging. Her spirits rose when she found a used paint can that appeared to have almost nothing in it, but fell again when opening it found no more than two rags and a piece of paper towel. Her training appeared to have excluded any concern for other people’s property, causing both Jill and myself to shriek “Careful!” when she cracked sole boards against our cherished varnish or scraped her gun and handcuffs against the doors into the heads and fore-cabin.

Finally an hour had passed and both she and the film crew had had enough. Our helpful direction suggestions, such as filming through the now open deck hatches, were gratefully accepted by the cameraman as it got him into some fresh air. It appeared that no crimes had been attributed to either ourselves or our boat and our documents were returned to us. They all began to disembark, walking across the boat inside us and so to the pontoon, leaving us with about an hour of re-stowing. The final chuckle came about ten minutes later when Customs Man No.2 returned – “one of the film crew had lost his lifejacket, had he left it on board?” No, he hadn’t,

We were told that the results would be shown on France 3 on a Saturday evening in September or October, with the title “La vie tout simplement”. Presumably only the edited version will be transmitted.

Lessons learned
1. Never believe a film crew that says it will be finished in two minutes.
2. The only documents that interested the Customs people were passports and our Part 1 registration.
3. Pass heavy cameras from inflatables to yachts, don’t try to climb aboard carrying them.
4. Take off thick clothes before indulging in lively activities in a warm saloon.
5. If this was a serious inspection it is not surprising that drug smuggling is so easy and lucrative.

 

[Stemar]

Seems to be a common experience. When they come on board do they swipe passports like when you're at the border, do they check the details over the radio or are they just having a look at it? Is a driving license sufficient to provide for ID if not carrying passport?

In the unlikely event that I'm going to France, I'll have passports and boaty documents but otherwise they'll have to make do with what we happen to have. IFAIAA, there's no requirement to carry any sort of ID in the UK.

 

[johnalison]

I have only ever been called up by them, as we were heading east from Lowestoft. I have been boarded by French, Belgians, Dutch and Germans, which only ever involved going through the paperwork. I even got away with an expired SSR in France once. If I were approached by our own people I would expect them to be polite, if formal, and in return I would want to assist them in going about their business with as little delay as possible.