He and his companion had anchored and gone ashore for a meal. When he returned to his boat he was dismayed to find a naval police patrol launch alongside, and two steely-eyed officers searching his cabin.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"You were seen near a restricted area", came the reply, "and as such we have powers to search your boat."
"Well, in that case, I'm going to search yours," the man replied.
The officers gave him a patronising smile. "Now, now, sir, you can't do that," they said. Whereupon the yacht owner produced a business card, and said, with some authority, "Oh, yes I can. Ring that number for confirmation."
It appeared that the poor policemen had picked on the chief of Customs & Excise for Scotland, who wields so much power that he could probably strip-search the Pope.
It was a through job. We're told that it took two days for the police to put their boat back together again.