Dealing with pirates

[mackid068]

No they won't, but a well placed flare shot can kill or cause fire/explosion and is 100% legal to have on you.

[Wynand N]

Originally Posted by mackid068

No they won't, but a well placed flare shot can kill or cause fire/explosion and is 100% legal to have on you.

Fair enough, I'll buy that.

[tom28571]

Originally Posted by Sean Herron

Hello...

Just scream at them that you are an American, and ask them what they are going to do about it...

That should get the dialogue started....

This is only a suggestion - aimed (no pun) at getting rid of stupid Americans...

Last year in Mexico there was a brewhaha on the street - two Mexican cops dragged out this kid from a bar who screamed out the above - I thought to myself (no pun) - well - thats the end of his happy vacation - half a dozen smacks on the head with a 7 inch thick phone book can't hurt any American who asks 'what you going to do about it'...

Not intended to offend those Americans who know when to keep the fact that they are same hush hush whilst travelling abroad without a mechanized armoured division or half a dozen stolen VISA cards...

Viva...

SH.

Damm, Sean,

Now you done gone and pissed me off. You may not have meant this to offend but, believe me, it did. It is just the kind of crap we don't need. I can usually take your wandering jibes as humor but this kind of blanket diatribe angries up my blood.

We do have our sins to answer for south of the border but I am still proud to be an American and there are surely lots of others glad to get in. I've traveled the entire breadth of your country and like Canadians also, even if a lot of them don't like each other.

The surest way to avoid criticism is to do nothing or pretend problems don't exist. A little navel viewing might help about here.

[Sean Herron]

Hello..

I have to duck a few hits now and then...

I could have subbed in British - French - Dutch - Spanish - Portugese - or any other colonial nation but I had to go American...

The above have evolved into the EU...

Trouble is you don't have the experience of the above - but that will come as history winds its way...

Time to go kill some crows for a pie...

Duck - crow...

SH.

[tom28571]

Don't forget to take a long look at the navel but watch where the gun is pointed while doing that.

Enjoy.

[mackid068]

Chances are that'll get you killed because of the pervasive hatred for americans throughout the world.

[Mikey]

Guys, that was unnecessary, OK?

I'll give it a try to get it started again.

2 assumptions, 1) both I and the boat are well insured and 2) I have a "legal" re-chambered WWII flare pistol that shoots more than flares on-board.

The big question is when I should use my weaponry and when not.
I think that we all agree on that IF the pirates are armed, then it is likely that I will be both Out-Gunned and Out-Manned. I think that we all also can agree on that I should expect a more violent response from armed pirates if I start the shooting. Doesn't sound like good odds to me.

Say that I am chased by a fishing boat outside Colombia’s coast. A shot in front of the bridge windows would make the “fishermen” realise that I am armed and prepared to protect myself. I’d say most of them would back off and all is well. But if they don’t, then I have put myself in a more serious position by firing at them. They for some reason still think that they can beat me (out-gunned and out-manned?) and I have pissed them off. Bad odds again.

Chased by Fishing Boat In Asia
Should I shoot or should I not? In Asian waters, I would not simply because I do not believe that they would want to kill or hurt me, they just want my things – and I have insurance anyway. Why take the risk of escalating things? They probably won’t even want my boat, unless it can be used as a fishing boat.

If I do fire in front of the bridge windows of an Indonesian fishing boat, I bet they would back off, regardless of if they had some arms on board or not. They are just dirt poor fishing men who tried to get “some extra income”, doesn’t mean that they will attack an armed boat. Thief by opportunity or pirate?

But they are still humans and they will get angry when they are shot at, we all do, don’t we? What is there stopping them from taking revenge by reporting this to the local authorities – “they have never seen a westerner in their life and they just approached to say Hello when they got shot at”. If they have a bullet hole in the bridge window, then authorities may very well take action and you would be thrown in jail, temporarily of course. No offence anyone, but showing an American flag in Indonesian waters may very well provoke such a response (provoke –seen from an Indonesians’ perspective, not mine). A gun can easily be planted on board and you are the one proving that it’s not yours and that you did not fire it.

Sad fact, but I would not want to show an American flag in Indonesian waters at all. The same goes for the Muslim parts of The Philippines (the south).

Chased by Speed Boat
I would most likely not start firing at a speed boat approaching me in the Malaccan Straight, same thing, they would most likely not hurt me if they just get what they want. Or what I have if I don’t have what they want. I am sounding like a parrot by now – and I have insurance anyway. But these guys may very well want my boat too, not only my things so it’s “most likely” this time. If I can be reasonably certain that they are unarmed, or that odds are fairly even, then I might fire first. And thinking of it, I would carry 2 re-chambered WWII flare pistols, 2 shots fired within a second of each other may make them re-thing and choose an easier target instead. Once they have opened fire, then I would never shoot back not trying to kill, that’s pointless.

For Sure - If a speed boat full with pirates shooting wildly approach, then I’d fire back with everything I had, got nothing to lose, sort of. Now please help me, what should I do if a speed boat full with pirates approaches me outside Colombia’s or Puerto Rico’s coast and what about my "Colombian fishermen being the same as Asian fishermen" assumption?

Mikey

[dionysis]

You analysis is a pretty fair Mikey, and I for one think thise thread needs to be worked out further.

My response further up the page, was to simply avoid those areas that have a concerted history of piracy. Go around the area - just don't go there. I still stand by that.

In the first instance, I know this seems to avoid the issue in an easy sort of way. Perhaps if I were by myself at sea, I may take a chance, but if I have my wife and daughter as well, what should I do then?

You must admit it does away with the whole problem of what to do. Problem solved.

Nevertheless, in what situation will shooting be the right thing to do?

There are three classes of pirates as you have shown:

1. Poor oppotunistic pirates who have no arms.
2. Pirates who have the arms but have not got the stomach to trade lives for money or electronics.
3. Pirates who are prepared to kill if it suits them.

In all these cases the best course, (leaving aside the ideal avoidance strategy) is to carry a heavy calibre automatic machine gun. One that is sure to do damage to the hull of any resonable pirates boat. Let alone it's occupants. Why?

If you fire, you better be able to back it up. You cannot predict how many guns will be aimed at you, so you may as well have a gun that can be equivalent to ten armed pirates. Furthermore if such a gun is fired across the bows first. Everbody will know what they are in for.

This is the "cold war" deterance option.

But are you able to carry such a gun? It's ridiculous. Furthermore, if push comes to shove, you would need to have a kevlar reinforced cockpit. So like I say: go around.

What is wrong with the avoidance strategy anyway?

[woodboat]

I totally agree that areas should be avoided. If a hurricaine were approaching why would one charge into it? With that said I also think one should be prepared for the worst. So, say you have avoided known pirate areas but they have moved their operations and are now in your waters. If going on a long cruise do you prepare for the worst? Do you have it in your mind that you are going to give up to the first person trying to board your vessel? Do you repel boarders?

[Skippy]

I agree completely with Mikey's approach. Risk management is crucial. Any one-size-fits-all approach will be vastly inferior to a knowledge of what different kinds of attackers are out there, where they are, how common they are, and what are the best ways of dealing with them.

[woodboat]

Interesting reading. http://www.nationalreview.com/script...0503230744.asp I challenge mackid068 to read it completely

[=D=]

is it a problem to use some defence rules.

1) if they shooting to you then you shooting to them

2) if they just beg for some goodies then you giving something to them if you
can

I know that I've simplify a little the problem. The reality is little more complicated. But when somethink is hapening, you must react somehow anyway.

[mackid068]

John Lott is a noted conservative, and is obviously biased. I'd like to see a report b an impartial academic that bases everything purely on numbers. (For example: 37% more likely to kill family member than to kill criminal!)

[woodboat]

First off why would be a conservative make one Biased? Most major media are liberal yet claim to be unbiased. Secondly that is the second time you wrote that astonishing sounding statistic. What does it mean? Certainly not that 37% of the 70 million US gun owners will kill a relative This website http://www.kimdutoit.com/guns/KdtA5.htm indicates that 2.75% or 774 people were killed accidently (at the time the article was written). A little blurb for those not interested enough to read
Leading causes of death:

Heart Disease: 710,760
Cancer: 553,091
Stroke: 167,661
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 122,009
Accidents: 97,900
Diabetes: 69,301
Influenza and pneumonia: 65,313
Alzheimer's Disease: 49,558
Kidney diseases: 37,251
Septicemia: 31,224
Suicide: 29,350
Liver disease: 26,552
Hypertension/renal disease: 18,073
Homicide (all causes): 16,765
Pneumonitis: 16,636
All other combined: 391,904

Total deaths by gunshot: 28,663

Circumstances of gunshot deaths:

1. Suicide: 16,596 (53%)
2. Homicide: 10,806 (38%)
3. Accident: 774 (2.7%)
4. Police: 258 (0.9%)
5. Unknown: 229 (0.8%)

As a percentage of the total U.S. population:

-- Gunshot homicide deaths (10,806) : 0.0036%

And for comparison purposes:

-- Death by alcohol (19,358): 0.0062% [excl. alcohol-related accidents]

How would you feel if people starting espousing the virtues of repealing the first amendment?

[Mikey]

There is nothing wrong with the avoidance strategy Dionysis and I would use it anywhere I could. But it is simply not possible to fulfill my ultimate goal, a circumnavigation, without getting into some danger areas.

Thinking of it, with my wife and 3 month old daughter on board, I would NOT go south from Singapore. But I would still go-round-the-world (dream on Mikey, you don't have the money anyway...).

I think I and my family are safe this route - please question my assumptions and fill in with more information.

Starting in the Caribbean, I'd stay well clear of Colombian and Venezuelan waters when going for the Panama Canal. What about threats from the north closing in on Panama?

Once in the Pacific, I have many things to worry about, but not pirates. I want to go to Australia and that is also fine but I must avoid south Indonesia at all costs. That means that Torres Straight is out of the question, so is the south of the Philippines. My only safe route except rounding Australia (which I don't want) is to go east of Indonesia and south Philippines. I think I can take the San Bernadino Straight and then steer north west, don't have take the Luzon Straight and avoid the Philippines totally. Besides, the Philippines is a paradise that I don't want to miss.

I stay clear of Vietnamese, Cambodian and Indonesian waters and head for Singapore. From Singapore, I head north up the Malaccan Straight toward Thailand. This stretch is not 100% safe but this is the only way there is. I decide to stay close to Malaysia's coast and only move daytime. From what I have heard, I should be fine doing it this way.

I will visit the Burmese archipelago for a week or two, must go in to the Burmese border town just north of Ranong in Thailand and "fetch a customs officer" (must be onboard all the time if the boat is not Burmese flagged). There is an acceptable fee and a bribe (a bottle of western Whiskey will do fine) involved but it is worth it.

Now I have a problem. Should I take the Suez canal or round Africa??? Look, I don't want to round Africa. Help! Advice please...

If I still want to take the Suez canal, what's the safest way to do it? Is there a safe way...

It was good dreaming...
Mikey