Common Sense Answer to Pirates

[boatman61]

Ok.... I'll try one more..
Close the Gulf States asap after the Gulf, stay close to shore and then to the Yemeni side as you enter the Red Sea, travel under motor till out of the danger area, sails increase visibility.. if you must sail raise them after dusk and lower before sunrise... keep nav lights low down... if possible sail in groups of three or more, keep your travel plans to a need to know... leave Aden after dark.

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by TOM

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.

Outside of movies, I've never seen or heard of a single situation, where outside of conflicts with armed law enforcement having a weapon increased risk of death. If you have a weapon and are surprised, outgunned, and outnumbered, you can choose not to "pull it out". In which case you are no worse off than if you never had it. Being completely disarmed and defensless doesn't have a good track record either, (ask the millions of victims who were murdered AFTER being robbed so they couldn't identify their attackers).

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

Outside of movies, I've never seen or heard of a single situation, where outside of conflicts with armed law enforcement having a weapon increased risk of death. If you have a weapon and are surprised, outgunned, and outnumbered, you can choose not to "pull it out". In which case you are no worse off than if you never had it. Being completely disarmed and defensless doesn't have a good track record either, (ask the millions of victims who were murdered AFTER being robbed so they couldn't identify their attackers).

Never been mugged or robbed by strangers....
But so called'friends'..
Thats a whole different ball game...

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Never been mugged or robbed by strangers....
But so called'friends'..
Thats a whole different ball game...

Friends????

Read my signature!

[zeehag]

boatman and delmarray-- concur with both of the above.... more than i wish i knew lol

[goboatingnow]

This thread is so far away from it's title. People talking about RPGs and AK47. Give me a break just where would the average cruiser get that ( ok maybe I could buy the from the pirates ) gear or who knows how to use it.

Unarmed is the safest let the professionals deal with the firearms.

Dave

[Vep]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

Outside of movies, I've never seen or heard of a single situation, where outside of conflicts with armed law enforcement having a weapon increased risk of death. If you have a weapon and are surprised, outgunned, and outnumbered, you can choose not to "pull it out". In which case you are no worse off than if you never had it. Being completely disarmed and defensless doesn't have a good track record either, (ask the millions of victims who were murdered AFTER being robbed so they couldn't identify their attackers).

I totally agree. Surrendering you and your family to CRIMINALS on the high seas out of sight from any help or repercussions to those criminals is folly, to say the least. Once you surrender, there is NOTHING to prevent them from doing anything they want to you or to those with you.

Modern day 'pirates' are really just lowlife criminals in boats, typically armed with shotguns or the occasional pistol. Somalia, of course, is one of the few exceptions to this with full auto military hardware.

One thing that has been observed about real pirate incidents is that when the potential victim shows any sign of being armed with a real firearm (and not just a flaregun) the bandits almost always back off and look for easier prey. They are in it for a fast and easy buck, not to get shot. They are not supermen or special forces heroes, they are lowlife criminals, nothing more. Like most criminals, they tend to have a shockingly low level of actual skill with the weapons they are threatening people with.

You don't need .50cal machine guns, an ordinary 12ga shotgun will work, like the venerable Remington 870 pump action, of which over 10 million have been made. A 20" cylinder bore barrel and some buckshot, and you are ready to go.

Your goal isn't to win a battle to the death on the high seas, your goal is to avoid one and nothing avoids that faster than making yourself too difficult or too dangerous to board. Your best protection is your yacht, and since your typical bunch of criminals out on the water are in smaller motor boats, you have a superior firing position and the protection of the boat itself. A defended yacht that is moving is very difficult and dangerous to board. A shotgun or pistol typically won't go through the hull of most yachts. The criminals are a lot more vulnerable to your gunfire than you are to their's.

A good example is a few years ago a convoy of yachts were heading into the Red Sea and they were beset upon by serious pirates that had a belt-fed 7.62mm machine gun on a pintle mount. The two yachts bringing up the rear were American and armed with 12ga pump shotguns. They got strafed with some machine gun fire, but no one was killed. They returned fire with a fusillade of buckshot and the bandits decided to go look for a softer target.

No one can tell you whether to carry a firearm on board. That's a personal decision. Personally, I view it as a civic duty because if everyone was armed and had basic firearms training, a lot of this criminal bandit nonsense would come to a halt. However, if you are going to carry a firearm, like a 12ga pump shotgun, learn how to use it. If you need instruction, places like Gunsite Acadamy or one of many other schools can help you. You can also order training videos online to help you along.

[genomic]

"Outside of movies, I've never seen or heard of a single situation, where outside of conflicts with armed law enforcement having a weapon increased risk of death."

Of course, we don't include the ~ 20,000 accidental gun-related injuries per year in the U.S., because they don't count for some reason.

[genomic]

Actually, I don't know why I posted that. Due to the 'backfire effect' (observed in the latest rapture fiasco), not only will no-one's opionion be changed by contrary information, it's more likely to be enhanced. This works both ways of course.

I wish people would cut the bull then and just have the courage to say they are fans of carrying guns or not fans of carrying guns, and do their thing accordingly. As a 'not a fan of guns', I'd be just as happy of course to not be floating in too close proximity of the 'fan of guns' subset who are really, really big fans of carrying guns and more than happy to use them, if you know what I mean.

[redcobra]

Originally Posted by genomic

"Outside of movies, I've never seen or heard of a single situation, where outside of conflicts with armed law enforcement having a weapon increased risk of death."

Of course, we don't include the ~ 20,000 accidental gun-related injuries per year in the U.S., because they don't count for some reason.

In 2006, 642 people died in the United States from the accidental discharge of firearms. This is according to the 2010 Statistical Handbook of the U.S. Census Bureau. This represents of 0.00024% of all deaths for the year.
Data for current years is not available yet, but ti should be about the same percentage of total deaths.

[redcobra]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

This thread is so far away from it's title. People talking about RPGs and AK47. Give me a break just where would the average cruiser get that ( ok maybe I could buy the from the pirates ) gear or who knows how to use it.

Unarmed is the safest let the professionals deal with the firearms.

Dave

Actually, in most states you can go to your local gun shop, fill out the paperwork, and in 7 days or less you can have a "regulated" firearm such as a semi-automatic AK47 or M16. For a shotgun or non-regulated rifle you can go to your local Wal-Mart and buy one after a simple drivers license check.

[redcobra]

Originally Posted by genomic

I wish people would cut the bull then and just have the courage to say they are fans of carrying guns or not fans of carrying guns, and do their thing accordingly. As a 'not a fan of guns', I'd be just as happy of course to not be floating in too close proximity of the 'fan of guns' subset who are really, really big fans of carrying guns and more than happy to use them, if you know what I mean.

I am a fan of carrying guns, and do so where legal. I would not hesitate to use them if I felt my life, or the life of my family were threatened.

[genomic]

"In 2006, 642 people died in the United States from the accidental discharge of firearms."

Yep, and as I said, around 20,000 gun-related injuries. So you'll forgive me if I'm a little wary of you exporting your your clumsy, gun-weilding arses to various ports and anchorages around the world. ;-)

[redcobra]

Originally Posted by genomic

"In 2006, 642 people died in the United States from the accidental discharge of firearms."

Yep, and as I said, around 20,000 gun-related injuries. So you'll forgive me if I'm a little wary of you exporting your your clumsy, gun-weilding arses to various ports and anchorages around the world. ;-)

No problem. You are allowed to be wary.

Ps: You can't know whether I am clumsy or not. In fact, I was trained in the military while defending my country, and keep my training current at the various ranges in my area..

[genomic]

Well that's a relief. Now if we can just ensure all the other gun-fans are equally trained. And may as well throw in a psych and eyesight test for good measure. Wouldn't want anyone accidentally mistaking me for a bad guy as I putter over in my dink to say hi.