I’m the innocent bystander
Somehow I got stuck
Between the rock and the hard place
And I’m down on my luck
Send lawyers, guns and money…
- zevon
Well, here’s a new challenge for sea kayakers in the Great Lakes; avoiding a hail of gunfire! According to CNN the US government is planning to arm U.S. Coast Guard boats on the Great Lakes with machine guns. This as you can imagine is not going over well with some Canadians. The mayor of Toronto claims that this move violates a treaty between Canada and the United States signed right after the war of 1812. Of course the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard says the old treaty no longer applies. I find it interesting that we have the commandant of the Coast Guard interpreting and negating international treaty. I suppose it saves diplomats and elected officials a lot of work. To be fair, the US and Canada signed an agreement to allow armed U.S. boats in the Great Lakes in 2003, but forbids them entering Canadian waters.
Earlier this year the Coast Guard started their training exercises with their shiny new .30 caliber machine guns. Kayakers and recreational boaters shouldn’t feel ill at ease however since they assure us there are safety measures in place to protect near by boaters. Warnings are broadcast on maritime frequencies before the exercises, and the they will have boats monitoring traffic in the area. Besides they say, “we’re only talking about a couple of times a year, a couple hours a day.” Hmmm, just another reason to buy that VHF. And maybe and extra large flack jacket to go over your PFD.
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hail of gunfire
Published September 29, 2006 | 
That does it, man. I am packing a big water gun with me from now on. It occurs to me that if I was one of the gunners, those little kayak hulls whould be challenging targets.
Alas, times have changed, and I suspect this is all about the terrorism fear.I would also think that a guy standing on his head inside the cockpit of a kayak is suspicious and would warrant, at the very least, a shot across the bow
Score another point for the terrorists! They’ve got us running again, or I mean, paddling. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
“I would also think that a guy standing on his head inside the cockpit of a kayak is suspicious and would warrant, at the very least, a shot across the bow”
That would be Derrick going “below deck” to arm the torpedoes.
Very frightening, just where will this paranoia lead us. armageddon? The terrorists out there don’t have to do anything; were doing it to ourselves.
Owen.
I’ve already been pulled over once by the coastguard, senza machine guns. We paddled too close to palisades nuclear (nook-u-larr if you are george W) plant on Lake Michigan.
They asked for ID, which in the middle of summer from a kayak I couldn’t provide. So they took some batons and knocked out my sponsoons.
KW
I know from my personal experience (USN 8 years, Viet Nam vet, .45 pistol qualified, Thompson machine gun qualified, 50 caliber machine gun experience, and typewriter expert–I was a Yeoman!) that I’d rather have persons who are armed doing some practicing with their weapons once-in-awhile than learning in the heat of battle.
Who knows when Michigan decides to leave the union and when it does it is going to take the rest of Wisconsin with it (they already took Upper Wisconsin, which they call the UP!), I want the USCG to protect us until the kayakers can get underway to sneek up on those Michiganders and paddle them into submission/remission!!!
Ever since they found pictures of Washington State ferries on a laptop in Afghanistan we have had Coasties on active patrol in Puget Sound and the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Yes, there are twin 30′s mounted on the bow, too. Said Dorothy: We are not in Kansas Anymore, Toto!
Cheers,
Rob G
The fact that they’ll be shooting lead bullets during their practise has the enviromentalists upset.
Don’t they really care about putting more poison into the lakes?
Bert