Common Sense Answer to Pirates

[Butler]

Look, I don't have a lot of cruising experiance but I have spent plenty of time in poor places where people are not blessed with all we have and
i'm with Zee. I don't think she is trying to say that the more "low key" appearance she writes of will guarantee that you will never be bothered but it is a consideration.

For my money it does help to be aware and respectful of the social/economic context we might find ourselves in as 1st worlders who have the blessing to be able to sail our own boats recreationaly where we want.

Let me ask politely what do you mean when you say you have to cross the Indian ocean? Are you transporting vital goods or refugees or ???

This is a real question for cruisers; what is the context for our right to go where we want when we want and how important are our recreational goals in the grand scheme of things?

Jack London and his wife sailed the South Seas when people there still ate other people, adventuring through great uncertainty and danger at times. I don't think they operated with the expectation that as westerners various officials would be responsible for eloiminating this danger. That would be arrogant and impractical.

Can't take the heat better stay away from that kitchen...

[Butler]

Amen Boatman!

[zeehag]

yeah--some of my bestest friends in life are.........is always good if ye can do good for the kids of the area....

[Bluefuss]

Well i've used them for years to keep the horses out of the haystack, was just thinkin it might be a neat suprise for anyone sneaking onboard in the middle of the night. Sure pisses the horses off

[markpierce]

Don't you get it? The answer is so, so simple. The common-sense answer is to stay away from areas subject to piracy. But that is the coward's way. Join me!

But when the bad guys get us cornered, let's fight back like wildcats!

And then again there is preemptive action. But I'm a coward.

[Extemporaneous]

Originally Posted by zeehag

fried kat is not what ye wanna find when returning from provisioning.

That's one opinion!

;-)

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Extemporaneous

That's one opinion!

;-)

n0t this kat-the other kind, mebbe, but this is a gen-yooo-whine sailing guard da boatkat... gooood kitty--about same size as a moderately small dog of respectable breed. those lil small tiny kitties ye has to watch out for when ye step on em , now , that is another story...same with those lil yappy doggies...

[Jon Hacking]

Originally Posted by Butler

Look, I don't have a lot of cruising experiance ... [but] i'm with Zee. I don't think she is trying to say that the more "low key" appearance she writes of will guarantee that you will never be bothered but it is a consideration...

Let me ask politely what do you mean when you say you have to cross the Indian ocean? Are you transporting vital goods or refugees or ???

This is a real question for cruisers; what is the context for our right to go where we want when we want and how important are our recreational goals in the grand scheme of things?...

Butler, there are pretty defined sailing routes for various oceans at different times of the year. Most are pretty weather dependant. If you're interested, you might pick up a copy of Jimmy Cornell's "World Cruising Routes." Most world cruising boats will have a copy.

There are few routes home from SE Asia to the Caribbean. Most of them cross the Indian Ocean, & so go through or close to pirate waters. The others are extremely difficult.

For those folks who are comfortable in their safe little harbor, it's easy to say "just don't go there". But that's not what this thread is (was) about. And in this particular case, ignoring piracy is not going to make it go away. And it is a very real problem! It's easy to ignore when you're on the other side of the world, but that isn't going to help anything.

Am I transporting vital goods? Yes! Me, my family, & my boat. But this thread was not supposed to be "should you go" as much as "if/when you go, what can you do". I've heard that you don't want to be here. That's fine. But not terribly helpful...

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by Jon Hacking

For those folks who are comfortable in their safe little harbor, it's easy to say "just don't go there". But that's not what this thread is (was) about. And in this particular case, ignoring piracy is not going to make it go away. And it is a very real problem! It's easy to ignore when you're on the other side of the world, but that isn't going to help anything.

Am I transporting vital goods? Yes! Me, my family, & my boat. But this thread was not supposed to be "should you go" as much as "if/when you go, what can you do". I've heard that you don't want to be here. That's fine. But not terribly helpful...

Yes, it easy for some, like me, to not go there. But you want to "press the issue" and expect some way to proceed without harm from violent humans you know are out to get you. I hope you well. Too bad many think people wanting to do you harm are just misunderstood and are disadvantaged, and just need some understanding and your wealth to make things right. Just have the powerless locals pass some laws and unlawfulness will stop. Childish, childish, childish.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Jon Hacking

There are few routes home from SE Asia to the Caribbean. Most of them cross the Indian Ocean, & so go through or close to pirate waters. The others are extremely difficult.

You already know the answers. They are just not what you would like them to be. Nor are any risk free or "safe" or cheap.

But sometimes in life their are no good answers. Which I suspect accounts for why no one on CF (or yourself) has come up with any.

[Jon Hacking]

Originally Posted by markpierce

Yes, it's easy for some, like me, to not go there. But you want to "press the issue" and expect some way to proceed without harm from violent humans you know are out to get you. I hope you well. Too bad many think people wanting to do you harm are just misunderstood and are disadvantaged, and just need some understanding and your wealth to make things right. Just have the powerless locals pass some laws and unlawfulness will stop. Childish, childish, childish.

Mark, I'd love to get this thread back on track - to "press the issue" as you say. I don't have expectations, & there's no way I know of to guarantee any sort of safety, but if that's what I wanted, I wouldn't be out cruising. But there's a wealth of brain-power & excellent ideas here that I'd LOVE to tap into to help make it safer.

We are all ambasadors out here, & we do what we can not to offend the locals. Certainly we don't flaunt wealth. We dress appropriately (Malaysia is Muslim) & the only jewelry we show are simple wedding bands.

We've been to many disadvantaged places. Zimbabwe is (I think) worse off than Somalia, yet there's little crime (against whites). Madagascar is one of the poorest places we've gone, yet we had a difficult time giving away a bag of used clothing - the villagers didn't understand at first, & when they did, they had to give us something in exchange!

These places, though they're poor & disadvantaged, still have a good set of values for ethical conduct. Most Somali's probably do as well, but I suspect it's been corrupted by a few individuals.

[Dkdoyle]

Jon Hacking I wish i had better suggestions for you. Hopefully someone that has been there can advise.
As for the zapper we me be blowing that one off to quickly for the thefs in the Carib. If you could juat wrap it around your upper life line just in the cocpit area then how is that not an effective deterant?
Seems reminicent of Slocums tacs on the deck.

[SabreKai]

Just thought I'd toss this out.

Given the rapidly declining state of the global financial system, I'd say that the piracy problem is going to get worse and spread. Place that used to be safe will no longer be as safe or safe at all.

Sabre

[TOM]

Originally Posted by NotQuiteLost

Everyone needs to be armed on the open ocean. I'm not specifically stating a minimum caliber (or even that a caliber is part of the equation), but it is literally the only remaining 'lawless' place in the world. Look what the 'Sea Shepherd' group gets away with every year without any punishment?

Everyone needs to be armed, and ready to defend themselves. The big ships can take care of it with reinforced panic rooms, or private security firms, but the rest of us have to keep it in our own hands.

Research and history shows that having firearms onboard is not advisable .There are clear indications that carrying weapons onboard generally lead to deaths that would very clearly have been avoided had the cruiser not have produced a weapon.

[Dkdoyle]

I have to wonder if you included the 24 year old that just survived by pointing a flare gun at the guy that killed her nice father.