Night of the Long Knives

Last night as we were sitting in the cockpit enjoying the calm evening we noticed the local sheriff and fish cop (Nazis) going boat to boat. Of course they have very bright lights and black uniforms. This has been proven over the years to be the best way to roust undesirables. Apparently this happens on occasion here in Boot Key harbor and of course they are just “doing their job” and “checking on stuff”. I didn’t really want any part of this sort of behavior so I locked the companionway with an external padlock and slipped below through a hatch. We sat below quietly in the dark. Are you thinking of Anne Frank? I was. How ridiculous. Of course this couldn’t happen in the daytime...no drama there and you wouldn’t be able to use the really bright lights. Anyway they DID come to our boat. We saw the lights shining through the ports but laid low. They knocked, “Fish and Wildlife!” Boy that will strike terror in the hearts of terrorists! Oh no! Fish cop...RUN! Then I heard one of the crew say, “Oh, they’re not home, I can see the padlock”. Genius.

Imagine your local police going door to door in the middle of the night to “just check on your documentation”. To see if you have fire insurance perhaps. Imagine the outrage that would ensue. But if you live aboard your boat apparently you have somehow surrendered your right to unlawful and unnecessary search as promised in the constitution. Remember the constitution? It seems few do these days.

One of their excuses for this jack-booted behavior is to prepare for the death of Fidel. You do see how that could send shock waves through the anchorage here in Marathon don’t you?
They’ll probably be back tonight but we’re not going to hide. We may have a problem in that we’ve never registered this boat in Florida because we keep meaning to leave. We’ll see how much trouble that makes for us tonight. Sue is ashore sending in registration documents and making copies just in case.

The Bahamas beckon more than ever.

GO BEARS