Do coast guard / customs use sniffer dogs when searching yachts?

[Nicholson58]

Substitute booze for the hemp. After check in in a state with canibus dispensaries present your card and smoke your head off. Don’t smoke on the boat or you might get the treatment crossing into the next state or at sea.

Nobody cares about your rhum or wine. In the US, the FED still cares about drugs, no matter what state laws are. On the sea, the USCG rules.

[David Mathis]

You're cruising on a sailboat, the weather is perfect, no problems, no stress, life is great. Now tell us why you want to have drugs aboard.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Dankoozy

So they just come in to trash your boat and leave you to clean up the mess? just for a false positive & no compensation?

Pretty much, so don't give them a reason.

If you are a user, it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep anything in contact with the stuff away from the boat. If your clothes smell of it, don't be surprised when the dog hits on it and they decide to pull your boat apart to make sure it's a false positive.

Also a good idea, as best you can, to have the boat clean, neat and in good repair...yourself also, clean clothes and a shave, etc.... Clean cut middle class folks who are respectful are far less likely to have issues.

PS: You don't have to be paranoid. If you aren't carrying drugs and you show up presentable and reasonable, it's not much of a risk.

[JBsurfin]

Originally Posted by chriswsailing

Hello all!

I'm still fairly new to this forum, please help me! I'm planning my first trip to the Caribbeans in the next couple months. I plan to go from Spain to Costa Rica and other countries in Central America, and then get back to Italy, as an Italian citizen on an Italy registered motor yacht.

What should I expect from the coast guard / customs officials?

I have some small amounts of stuff for my personal use, officials never found them but a sniffer dog could get me in big trouble.

I heard yachts are regularly stopped by coast guard / navy and searched for drugs.
But do they use sniffer dogs while searching yachts? If you ever met any sniffer dogs while inspecting a yacht, in which country did that happen?

Any advice greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Lets see, maybe ask Brittney Griner what happens? Smarten up, is it worth it.

[TXProud]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Is this stuff so important to you that you are willing to risk losing your yacht and perhaps lifestyle?

Yachts have been completely dismantled on the suspicion of having drugs onboard.
If they find a little, they will look for more.

Life is all about taking choices.

I’ve been boarded going in both directions. They only used the dog once, but there was one on the CG vessel.

[P3sailor]

Sad, but if your stuff is marijuana you could be setting yourself up for a trip to the crowbar hotel, or worse. It's too bad because pot is no worse than alcohol, in fact not near as bad, in my opinion, but laws are laws, I would hate to see or hear of a bad experience with the C.G. or any local law enforcement folks.

[ccanupii]

I think everyone is missing the point to the question. How to avoid being searched for drugs and there is an easy and full proof method.

Contact the country you are heading to, tell them you are smuggling drugs, wait for them to get close and then set your boat on fire. You will get the benefits of being an admitted drug smuggler in a foreign country and your boat will not be searched by a sniffer dog.

Problem solved.

[Giro]

Probably the best piece of advise would be to start growing up before you decide to travel the world in a boat.

[Jillmstar]

We had sniffer dogs find hidden money! They are all over the world!

[FoxIslander]

Marina Méxicana uses dogs. Not every time...but your taking a huge risk. The dog will find it where ever you stash it in 15 seconds. Hard to believe someone is actually asking this.

[Roux]

I had been on Saint Helena island on the hard living on the yacht waiting for the then RMS to take us back to Cape Town. The security guard was from the UK, a retired soldier. He had a beautiful German Shepard with him. Every night at 22:00 he would drink tea with us under the yacht where we lived, to hot inside. One night I asked him what the dog was for. "A sniffer," he told me. "Can I show you?" "Sure," I said." He took a plastic bag with some weed he used for training purposes, put his dog in his car and hide it behind a winch on the hard. Next thing he let his dog out and it runs directly to my wive's stuff and pointed. I was quick to tell him: "Your dog is defective!" He just laughed and said "let us pretend it did not happen."

[muckmuck]

Originally Posted by Roux

I had been on Saint Helena island on the hard living on the yacht waiting for the then RMS to take us back to Cape Town. The security guard was from the UK, a retired soldier. He had a beautiful German Shepard with him. Every night at 22:00 he would drink tea with us under the yacht where we lived, to hot inside. One night I asked him what the dog was for. "A sniffer," he told me. "Can I show you?" "Sure," I said." He took a plastic bag with some weed he used for training purposes, put his dog in his car and hide it behind a winch on the hard. Next thing he let his dog out and it runs directly to my wive's stuff and pointed. I was quick to tell him: "Your dog is defective!" He just laughed and said "let us pretend it did not happen."

Hahahahh! That is hilarious!

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by muckmuck

Hahahahh! That is hilarious!

You then smoked the wife’s stash I presume

[merrydolphin]

Don’t mind the “holier that thou’s “. Probably lots of them habitually use a much more dangerous drug. It’s called alcohol. Very common among cruisers. And much more addictive and harmful than marijuana. However, regardless, even though marijuana is commonly smoked on the streets of many a Caribbean island, if you have it on your boat, they can take advantage of you and indeed confiscate your boat, and worse. Especially Mexico. Save your smoking for ashore with the locals. You will have no problem finding it. I personally don’t need any chemical to have a wonderful time in paradise. But if I had to choose one, it would be marijuana. I find the sailing and diving there an incredible high!

Once cleared in you will have a much lower chance of problems but that’s up to you. I especially wouldn’t be changing countries with it onboard. And changing countries can just be a 20 mile day sail. Personally, I don’t allow it on my boat.
Enjoy and fair winds.

[NPCampbell]

I know one of the tricks used on offshore work boats was to boil marijuana and sponge the walls with the solution. The theory was that the dogs would go nuts but wouldn't be able to localize the worker's stashes. I don't have firsthand knowledge of how effective this was but the practice was common. However, if this was your own boat, then this would probably be a license for the boat to be torn apart looking for contraband.