IN THE CUSTODY OF THE BAHAMIAN DEFENSE FORCE

February 23, 2013

IT'S PERFECT ON THE DOCK

The sun rose to a beautiful clear day with a light breeze.  Rod was soon in the water checking for the damage of last night.  He quickly found the missing line wrapped around the prop shaft, it was still attached to the bow cleat.  After cutting the line loose of the cleat, he was unable to get it off the prop shaft.  He came aboard to check for other damage & found the Drive Saver which sits between the transmission & the propeller shaft was in pieces.  Now this was very bad, but there was more to come.

By early afternoon the wind had picked up & we were still assessing our options.  We could not move It's Perfect & the dinghy motor would not run.  My sister was to arrive at 4pm for a week long visit & we needed to pick her up on shore.  Before anything could be decided the wind changed direction & caught It's Perfect, causing us to begin a slow drag through anchorage. Pushing off other boats in our path, Rod was finally able to bring her to a stop.  We were sitting in the middle of the channel.  It was about 2pm, Rod had called for assistance & a tow.  This was the beginning of a very long afternoon.

Our day just kept getting better, a few minutes later the Bahamian Defense Force pulled alongside & advised us we could not anchor in the channel.  We told them our problem & that we were waiting on a tow.  They decided to keep us company while we waited.  We welcomed them aboard & were immediately we were asked for our paper & passports, they then searched the boat.  This was not a problem for us, we were sure things were going to be better as soon as the tow arrived.  Not so.

As Rod handed over our papers & passports, he told them there was a fire arm aboard & where it was.  This began another story for the books.  Our papers were checked & checked again.  Calls were made to headquarters.  Questions about our check in were asked & questions about the gun.  They were very polite as they asked me to stay on deck with one of the 3 men that had boarded us.  Rod went below with the other two & a complete search of the interior of the boat was done. All storage compartments & cabinets were opened & searched.

By this time the tow boat was on its way & it was time to pick up my sister from the dock.  As they came back on deck it was finally clear what seemed to be the problem.  The Customs official in Chub Cay did not list the gun on our cruising permit.  Now we did not think it should be our problem, it was on the paperwork Rod filled out for the permit.  The Chief of the Defense Force thought otherwise.

The tow boat arrived & It's Perfect was taken to the marina dock.  As soon as the lines were tied, we were taken into the custody Bahamian Defense Force.  We were put onto the Defense Force boat & on our way to headquarters.  My sister was still waiting.  Upon arrival at their headquarters, we were seated in an open area & told to wait.  Just across the way was an enclosed outside area with razor wire around the top.  This was not looking at all good to us.

After almost 4 hours in the custody of the Bahamian Defense Force the problem was finally resolved.  Chub Cay faxed over a copy of the paperwork Rod had filled out declaring the gun & ammo.  We were then released from custody.  At that point they were very helpful & took me to the other end of the island to pick up my sister & bring her back to headquarters.  We were all then returned to It's Perfect. Rod had his gun & ammo in hand, the time was 6pm.

It is not illegal to bring a fire arm into the Bahamas as long as you declare it.  What we learned form this experience is, CHECK YOUR CRUISING PERMIT & PAPERS. Make sure everything you have declared is on the paperwork the official hands to you before you leave his office.

We now had company in the cockpit & were still dazed by the events of the last 24 hours.  Rod made margaritas & we contemplated our situation.  There was much to do.