Has anyone ever been boarded by Border Force?

KellysEye said:
We were saiilng from Lymington to Burnham--on-Crouch where were were goingt to base the boat. Off the Kent coast we were boarded by the Border Force and all they asked was where had come from. What I found strange was that there were two of them, one was by the cocpit and asked the question, the other was standig half way to the mast.
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KellysEye said:
We were sailing from Lymington to Burnham-On-Crouuch where w were going to keep the boat. Off the Kent coast we were boarded by two Border Force people and and all we asked was where we had left from.
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Repetition Failed the just a minute test.
 
Never been boarded but several times coming out of Portsmouth had dangerous wash due to their black ribs full of armed plonkers passing dangerously close and fast. On one occassion we had to stop and offer assistance to a very small sailing boat that had almost capsized due to their total disdain for safety on the water. The people on the boat had got quite badly bruised due to being thrown about violently. Not impressed with them at all.
 
Boarded once, had them alongside another time.
Being boarded was in the Thames estuary on a lovely sunny day. Got the impression it was for training as much as hoping to find anything. Nice chat with some pretty friendly people. Some interest when we declared our last port of call as Guernsey but clearly not actually interested in anything we were saying.

The next time was in Poole bay just as it was getting dark. I was delivering a boat back to the Solent after a corporate day in Poole. As the black rib came flying up behind me I realised quite how little I actually knew about the boat I was on, by myself. For example I'd spent all day with the owner, or at least who I assumed was the owner, but realised I only knew his first name.... I knew absolutely nothing about the history of the boat, just knew that I'd picked it up from a marina in Hamble with another jobbing skipper who I'd also only met that morning, taken it to Poole, done a day's corporate and was now taking it back to where I got it from. 23 year old me was quite trusting in hindsight!
Based on the questions that had been asked in my previous encounter I was somewhat concerned that if they asked those questions my answers were not going to result in them shaking hands and going on their way....
Thankfully they decided not to come and have a chat after all, but closed to within about 20 feet of the stern then abruptly turned and shot off after another boat. Guess they were looking for something specific...

Should probably stress that post that experience I had a long and happy involvement with that charter outfit, and there is nothing even remotely dodgy about them.
 
Only ever been called up on the vhf off Harwich on the way back from Ostend once, which as the cutter was a couple of miles away, was no mean feat to see the boat name (pre yacht AIS, so they must have some really powerful stabilised bins onboard?).
 
The Professional said:
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.
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If you are try to assess the likelihood of getting away with running drugs my advice to you is DON'T. (the penalties are very severe:disgust:) They will easily pick up a forged passport too if you are thinking of that:highly_amused:

We all know what you are up to: we are not dumb.:rolleyes:
 
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Only personal experience was on the Thames. We were on a waiting buoy outside St Kat’s and a Police boat went alongside another boat, we thought we might be next, but after a short while they jumped back on their RIB and whizzed off with blue lights going. Next day a nice WPC visited while we were in the dock, wanted details of ourselves and the boat. She explained that there was an “incident” the previous day which they had to attend urgently. This was in the Jubilee year so I guess security on the Thames was extra high.
AFAIK there is no need for a British citizen to carry any form of ID while in the U.K. or territorial waters so they can’t insist on any, different if you are in a motor vehicle when you are required to have your driving licence, failing which the police can require you to produce it at a police station within a week.
 
Leighb said:
AFAIK there is no need for a British citizen to carry any form of ID while in the U.K. or territorial waters so they can’t insist on any, different if you are in a motor vehicle when you are required to have your driving licence, failing which the police can require you to produce it at a police station within a week.
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I was pulled up in the main street by the police who asked me for my license and tested me for drugs (incl. alcohol) While I was checking my wallet for my license they told me it was Ok my license was current until 2022 and my car was licensed.
 
coopec said:
I was pulled up in the main street by the police who asked me for my license and tested me for drugs (incl. alcohol) While I was checking my wallet for my license they told me it was Ok my license was current until 2022 and my car was licensed.
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Unless your location is incorrect, rules are no doubt different in Australia?
 
Leighb said:
Unless your location is incorrect, rules are no doubt different in Australia?
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Now that is a logical conclusion:)

But recently the rules in Australia were the same as the UK. I believe now the police have a complete record of my driving convictions.

We have a demerit system in Australia: if you get more than 10 points you lose your license. It doesn't pay to drive if you lose your license as patrol cars have number plate recognition which will alert the patrolman so he can check on who is driving the car (owned by the driver under suspension).
 
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They're in an out of Southwold and Lowestoft quite a bit at the moment having had more people coming through the quiet harbour on small pleasure craft recently. They're always happy to wave or thumbs up as they come past and moor up on the town pilings.

Not boarded as such but we did get chased and told off by an angry PLA boat on the Thames a few years ago.
 
the boatbuilder in Hayle kept two alsations in the shed, he went down late at night to let them out as usual. There was an urgent whisper from a nearby bush "Keep those dogs quiet" he found a bunch of uniforms hiding. "Keep them quiet, we're expecting a drugs run coming in". he pointed out that it was towards low water and no one would be coming in for another five hours at least.
 
Back in 2003 I was motorsailing back from Guernsey solo and about 15 miles SSW of the Needles when I was overflown several times by a patrol aircraft.
An hour or so later a Severen class size lifeboat appeared in the distance heading flat out towards me. They hove to alongside and were crewed by several guys not in normal RNLI gear telling me they were out from Poole on trials and a EPIRB distress signal had been received 'in the area'.
I said not mine mate, but they asked if they could come aboard and check, which two of them did peering in every corner of the boat below.
They just said sorry to trouble you sir, climbed back on their boat and sped off.
Never did know what that was all about
 
Lightwave395 said:
Back in 2003 I was motorsailing back from Guernsey solo and about 15 miles SSW of the Needles when I was overflown several times by a patrol aircraft.
An hour or so later a Severen class size lifeboat appeared in the distance heading flat out towards me. They hove to alongside and were crewed by several guys not in normal RNLI gear telling me they were out from Poole on trials and a EPIRB distress signal had been received 'in the area'.
I said not mine mate, but they asked if they could come aboard and check, which two of them did peering in every corner of the boat below.
They just said sorry to trouble you sir, climbed back on their boat and sped off.
Never did know what that was all about
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The RNLI are not the only maritime organisation based in Poole, it's unclear from your post if the " Severen class size lifeboat" was an RNLI vessel.
 
Got boarded by the police in Milford Haven at anchor, waiting for the lock. I was asleep and a little annoyed the mate didn't wake me.

My then American fiancée was on board , listed as such on the posted crew list and they didn't seem bothered

Aparently they were polite and efficient, taking a copy of the crew list and leaving .

W.
 
Before my sojourn in th USA and regular weekend milk run booze shoppers we were frequently boarded mid- Channel by both UK and french , the latter even outside french territorial waters. Also many times in Southern Brittany. Always polite but when training they were more inquisitive .Froggy outside Cherbourg who passed us as we leftasked where we came from and why we had been there as he tripped over a case of wine on the cabin floor. Once the french ones radioed SWMBO's (USA) passport details through to HQ, wasting another 15 minutes. UK ones usually stopped mile or two away and sent men in black over in RIB, always left black bootmarks on deck. IIRC RIB was launched down a stern chute out of sight of intended'victim'. One (Searcher or Seeker) gave us a postcard of their boat as a 'gift'

Friend(Brit) of SWMBO's USAF)son, met in gulf war is now crew on one of the UK Border Force boats operating in eastern Channel and says thery have been very busythis year picking up illegals.
 
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