Honduras: Sailing Boat Boarded and Robbed by Pirates

[bobconnie]

Costies have always asked permission to board my boats!! of course Ive never said no either

[minaret]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

No one, I repete No One, Has the right to board your vessel without your permission! Personaly they would never gotten close enough for a hand gun to be any good for them !! A 10 gauge flare gun from world war 2 would have sunk there panga or what ever ya want to call it !! from 40 yards away !! and cleared ther deck if I so wanted to!! I don't like to carry the things I do carry but the world makes me do It !! No one will hold a gun to my head or my wifes head anytime I can keep them from it !! Leave no witness, and sail away!! to bad so sad another lost fisherman!! thats my 2 cents !!

Hey Bob, have you actually fired that thing? As someone who owns and has fired all sorts of ordnance from a milspec flare gun, I can tell you you'd be hard pressed to hit a panga at 40 feet let alone 40 yards. Against someone who is armed with an actual gun I wouldn't try it, it would very likely end poorly for you. On the other hand, against someone with only a machete or knife it's the bee's knee's, just make sure they get close before you pull the trigger on the old blunderbuss. Bird bombs are a great possibility, especially at night, as another boat could easily think they are a more lethal munition. But they are clearly marked and would be fairly impossible to travel with. JMHO.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by minaret

Hey Bob, have you actually fired that thing?

I've lined mine with a 4340 steel sleeve. Got a hellofa kick so I reduce powder.

And you keep one of these aerial flares in it and few would notice the difference.

[Wattsailing]

The world at sea is not any different than it was in the 17th or 18th century or even the 19th they had pirates, and how did they deal with them, they used force, our governments well mine (Australia) will not lift a finger for me or my family if we where to find ourselves in the hands of pirates,so I carry fire arms on board and will use them to defend my family, right or wrong if I go down it will cost the pirates dearly .

[minaret]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

I've lined mine with a 4340 steel sleeve. Got a hellofa kick so I reduce powder.

And you keep one of these aerial flares in it and few would notice the difference.

And your impression of accuracy? As I said, I don't think it would be wise to use one of these to defend against a properly armed intruder, let alone a boatload of armed intruders. But I do think they have a place. They sure shoot flares nice and high, and the selection of flares is great! And in a real pinch there is just an off chance that it could be a life saver as well. Sure beats nothing.
I've got a Webley and Scott Mark I 37mm from 1917, Royal Navy Issue. Very heavy duty, shoots nice, looks just like the one Peter O'Toole used in Lawrence of Arabia. You can fire 4 gauge slugs or buck out of it sleeved, but the barrel is really short and the recoil is a real wrist breaker. The shot pattern on 4 gauge buck fired from a barrel that can't be much more than 3" longer than the shell has to be seen to be believed-at close range you're not gonna miss! Hitting anything with a slug is pure luck though, 3" smoothbore barrel with no sights is not where it's at...

[atoll]

this was how it was with the somali pirates untill a few years back,boats got boarded,robbed,then released generally unharmed.......

jump ahead 20 years and we now have airstrikes on fishing villages..........

[AllezCat]

It is always a good idea to allow people with guns and machetes onto your vessel so they do not harm you.
Is that the attitude of some people? Amazing.
If you are unarmed, and they took you by surprise - ok - nothing you can do about it. Its yes sir/si jeffe..
But if there are cues then brandish - shoo - shoot as necessary.
I would never let them on my boat. Never let them tie up me or my family.
What sort of man/family protector would even think about advocating that? being completely helpless at the mercy of armed criminals? - in the ocean...
Doing nothing will also increase the problem. her is a link to one guy's philosophy on "giving up":
Why Surrender Is Never an Option | Down Range TV
Here is

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

This will start another brush fire. IF you were able to detect their intentions far enough away to prevent them from boarding then you might not get robbed. If you are willing to trade your life for possessions then you might prevent them from boarding. You have no way of knowing if these individuals will kill you anyway if you do cooperate. Even if you were to throw a Molotov cocktail into their skiff, it would take the focus off robbing you and put them in the water to keep from frying. I for one vote to resist.

Excuse me, but I am NOT sorry they reported this TERRIBLE incident. Brush fire? We need to know about these events! There are no perfect responses, and clearly the response they made worked well. You weren't there.

Armchair quarterbacking is so easy.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by bstreep

I'm not taking sides. The problem is that if no one resists, and there are no repercussions, they will keep at it.

We are then faced with voting with our dollars/euros.

Sorry, but it was not up to this couple to do something in that situation that might conceivably help you out later. They took care of themselves extremely well and I simply cannot believe the heat they are taking here.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Nauti-Nauti

OK. Some good thoughts here. First let me say how sorry I am for the victims. Earlier this year there was a violent attack in "safe" Belize. Now another attack in Honduras. I have resisted the urge to use force as a practiced and standing SOP for our selves and vessel. The thinking being, nothing is worth my wife's' life. I could take these actions for myself, but would not want to jeopardize her well being. That being said, when is enough, enough? I think we need a major change in the laws (maritime treaties) that would more easily allow us to be armed. A shot fired in the air would more than likely ward off most of these coward attackers. The word would soon spread, we are not weak easy targets. Do any of you admit to being armed and how do you handle that with going in and out of countries?

I think we have to face the fact that we live in a global village, sociopaths all around the world have heard about Somali pilots. It is naive to think there are "safe places." There are "more safe" and "less safe" places.

[CSY Man]

Honduras is the country with the highest rate of murder in the world.

Life is cheap, not a good place for a sailing vacation and I have no idea why anybody would go there then act surprised when they get robbed by gun point...

[LakeSuperior]

Originally Posted by Nauti-Nauti

OK. Some good thoughts here. First let me say how sorry I am for the victims. Earlier this year there was a violent attack in "safe" Belize. Now another attack in Honduras. I have resisted the urge to use force as a practiced and standing SOP for our selves and vessel. The thinking being, nothing is worth my wife's' life. I could take these actions for myself, but would not want to jeopardize her well being. That being said, when is enough, enough? I think we need a major change in the laws (maritime treaties) that would more easily allow us to be armed. A shot fired in the air would more than likely ward off most of these coward attackers. The word would soon spread, we are not weak easy targets. Do any of you admit to being armed and how do you handle that with going in and out of countries?

Consider the escalation factor. The guys that want your stuff will just get bigger guns and a better plan.

[bobconnie]

Mine has an 18 in barrel. and shoots just great with 3 1/2 shells buck or slug !! at 40 yrds with buck it's a deck cleaner!! and with a slug it will sure make a big hole in a wood or glass boat !! and has a flare in it at all times anyone needs to ck it out ! never had a problem in any country ive been in at least so far anyway !!

[rtbates]

Ah the joys of cruising... NOT

Guys, if I need fire arms to feel safe somewhere, then I'm certainly not going, period. I don't care how pretty the place is...Seen lots of pretty places and they just ain't worth the anxiety level...

I must say that I already would feel better going into say Honduras because with all you armed sailors out there how can an unarmed easy mark like myself be picked out from the Rambo cruisers?? Keep carrying as much firepower as you can manage and thanks

[minaret]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

Mine has an 18 in barrel. and shoots just great with 3 1/2 shells buck or slug !! at 40 yrds with buck it's a deck cleaner!! and with a slug it will sure make a big hole in a wood or glass boat !! and has a flare in it at all times anyone needs to ck it out ! never had a problem in any country ive been in at least so far anyway !!

Pics please! 18" is a standard barrel length for plain old shotguns. Can't imagine a flare gun with a barrel as long as a shotgun's. You would think it would draw attention and be hard to stow, as well as being very bad at shooting flares. Mine is instantly recognizeable as the most well known flare gun in history. What model is yours, I'm familiar with most models of milspec flare guns and I've never heard of one with a barrel length even approaching 18"?