🎯 COAST GUARD CHASE

Overview

Coast Guard Chase is a white-knuckle maritime pursuit mission that pits Jason and Lucia against Captain Hernandez's coast guard interdiction fleet in a desperate escape across Vice City's harbor, canal system, and open coastal waters. The mission triggers when Hernandez's surveillance operation finally pinpoints the protagonists' waterfront stash house during a loading operation, forcing them to abandon the location with whatever cargo they can fit on a speedboat and flee before a cordon of coast guard cutters, interceptor boats, and a pursuit helicopter seals the harbor exits. Coast Guard Chase is GTA 6's longest sustained water chase sequence — approximately 12 minutes of continuous high-speed boat navigation through varied maritime environments, from tight harbor channels between anchored container ships to open ocean swells that send the boat airborne off wave crests. The mission showcases the game's dynamic water physics at their most punishing: wake turbulence from pursuing vessels affects handling, wave height increases in open water, and weather deteriorates as the chase progresses, transitioning from clear skies to a squall that reduces visibility to fifty meters. Lucia navigates while Jason operates the boat's rear-mounted weapon system, creating a passenger-shooter dynamic that inverts their usual roles.

Mission Background

Captain Ernesto Hernandez has been a thorn in the protagonists' side since Act 1 — a decorated coast guard officer whose jurisdiction covers Vice City's harbor and the Leonida Keys maritime corridor. Unlike the VCPD, who can be bribed or evaded on land, Hernandez runs an incorruptible unit that has been methodically tracking the protagonists' maritime smuggling operations through sonar buoy networks, informant intelligence, and satellite surveillance. The stash house — located in a converted boathouse at the Vice City Marina — has been under observation for weeks, and Hernandez has assembled an overwhelming force for the takedown: four interceptor boats, two cutters, a pursuit helicopter with FLIR thermal cameras, and a drone providing overhead surveillance. The mission is triggered automatically when the player completes a preceding cargo delivery mission, arriving at the stash house to find the perimeter already compromised. A panicked phone call from a lookout gives the protagonists roughly 90 seconds to load essential cargo before Hernandez's fleet rounds the breakwater. The escape route — through the harbor, into the canal system, past Starfish Island, and out to open ocean toward the Keys — is the longest continuous maritime escape route in GTA history.

Walkthrough

Coast Guard Chase unfolds across four maritime zones. Zone 1: Harbor Exit (3 minutes) — grab the speedboat from the stash house dock and weave through the commercial harbor, using anchored cargo ships as cover from the pursuing interceptors. The harbor's tight channels favor the smaller speedboat but require precise navigation between container ship hulls, dock pilings, and marker buoys. Two interceptor boats pursue from behind while a third attempts a flanking approach from the harbor entrance. Jason must disable or destroy the flanking boat before it can establish a blockade. Zone 2: Canal Run (3 minutes) — enter Vice City's canal system through a low bridge that the larger cutters cannot follow. The canals provide temporary respite from the heaviest pursuit but introduce new hazards: civilian boat traffic, kayakers, low bridges requiring ducking, and narrow sections where the boat's wake slams against canal walls. A second interceptor enters the canal system from a connecting waterway ahead, creating a pincer. Zone 3: Open Water (4 minutes) — emerge from the canal system near Ocean Beach into open ocean where the coast guard's superior numbers become fully effective. The weather deteriorates — rain reduces visibility while increasing wave height. The pursuit helicopter deploys spike buoys ahead of the escape route, requiring Lucia to spot and call out the floating hazards while maintaining course. Two cutters converge from port and starboard in a classic interdiction pattern. Jason must damage both cutters' engines to break the cordon. Zone 4: The Squall (2 minutes) — a sudden tropical squall provides cover. Lucia cuts the engine and navigates by GPS only through near-zero visibility, drifting silently past the searching helicopter's FLIR pattern. The chase ends at a hidden dock in the Keys where a contact provides shelter and new stash house arrangements.

Objectives & Gold Medal

Primary Objectives: Escape the stash house before the coast guard breaches the perimeter. Navigate through the harbor without being boarded. Transit the canal system. Break through the open-water interdiction cordon. Reach the Keys safe dock during the squall. Gold Medal Requirements: Load all available cargo from the stash house before departing (complete the loading within the 90-second window). Destroy or disable at least 4 coast guard vessels during the chase. Navigate the canal system without colliding with any civilian boats. Avoid all spike buoys deployed by the helicopter in Zone 3. Complete the squall stealth section without restarting the engine (drift-only navigation). Reach the Keys dock with less than 40% hull damage. Bonus Objective: During Zone 1's harbor section, locate and collect a floating evidence case that fell from the stash house during the hasty departure — recovering this case prevents a story complication where the evidence could be used against you in a later mission.

Strategies & Tips

Coast Guard Chase is the most demanding boat mission in GTA 6, and loadout preparation matters. Ensure Jason has maximum assault rifle and RPG ammunition before the mission triggers — the mounted weapon overheats after sustained fire, so switching to personal weapons during cooldown periods is essential. Lucia's driving benefits from the boat handling skills developed in Marina Madness — if you haven't completed that side chain, the canal section will be significantly harder. In the harbor (Zone 1), hug the port side of cargo ships — the interceptors approach from starboard, and the ship hulls block their firing arcs. The canal section (Zone 2) has a hidden shortcut: a narrow drainage channel between the second and third bridges that bypasses the pincer interceptor, but requires precise speed control to avoid grounding. In open water (Zone 3), don't try to outrun the cutters in a straight line — they're faster at top speed. Instead, use sharp zigzag patterns that exploit the speedboat's superior turning radius. The spike buoys glow orange underwater — watch for the glow pattern ahead of your bow, not the surface. The squall stealth section (Zone 4) is the trickiest: use the GPS compass heading, and tap the engine in micro-bursts (less than 1 second) only when the helicopter searchlight is pointing away from your position.

Rewards & Unlocks

Coast Guard Chase pays $35,000 base plus up to $15,000 in recovered cargo value — totaling $50,000 for a perfect run. The Keys dock becomes a permanent safe house with boat storage, replacing the compromised Vice City stash house. Captain Hernandez's pursuit intensity decreases for the remainder of the game — the embarrassment of losing a target during a full-fleet operation results in his superiors reassigning resources, reducing maritime heat accumulation by 25% in free roam. The "Gone with the Tide" achievement unlocks, and both characters' boat handling stats receive significant permanent upgrades from the experience. The destroyed stash house location later becomes a purchasable property at a discount (the coast guard raid reduced its market value), and the intelligence gained from the recovered evidence case (if collected) provides leverage in a subsequent negotiation mission. The speedboat used during the chase becomes a personal vehicle stored at the Keys dock.

GTA Series Legacy

Coast Guard Chase sits in the direct lineage of GTA's most iconic chase sequences — from Vice City's "The Fastest Boat" and "Stunt Boat Challenge" through GTA San Andreas's naval battles and GTA V's Merryweather maritime operations. The sustained 12-minute duration makes it GTA's longest continuous chase of any type, land or sea. The four-zone structure — harbor, canal, ocean, stealth — provides more environmental variety than any previous single chase sequence, and the weather transition from clear skies to squall is a technical showcase for GTA 6's dynamic weather affecting gameplay. Captain Hernandez represents an evolution of GTA's law enforcement antagonists — a competent, persistent adversary with his own story arc rather than a faceless pursuit mechanic. The stealth-in-a-squall climax has no direct GTA precedent, drawing instead from submarine thriller traditions and representing a new approach to ending a chase sequence with tension rather than speed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated April 25, 2026. For the full database, visit our Missions Wiki Database.