Recent Pirate Attack - Talked to the Captain in Shelter Bay

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by cat man do

What sort of speed could you get from your boat Mark?

Enough to outrun a boat thats approaching relatively fast?

We do 8.5 flat out.

A displacement fishing boat - and thats the likelihood offshore (not talking about Somalia where they use motherships in coordinated attacks) would be flat out at 9 to 10 knots.
Many fishing boats in the areas we have been are really quite slow. 8 knots absolute max.

If you spot a suspicious boat at 1 nm and head away from it at max speed they have 1nm to catch up whilst only doing 1 kt faster. So it would take them one hour to catch up.

As soon as you alter course and go to max speed you will know within minutes if they are chasing as they will alter course to intercept. Then its game on. You have 1 hour with radio, epirb, etc.

We have done this on 2 occasions. Both times a fishing vessel started acting strangely. Off Columbia they kept moving into our path but when we changed 90 degrees and ran off under full sail and engine they stayed where they were. I think they were probably defending their nets.

In Indonesia a fishing boat came over the horizon and stopped. Then changed course directly towards us. s the intercept looked obvious at 2nms and we were becalmed we fired up. The vessel followed for only a few minuted before stopping again.
I noticed it had a crows nest up its mast and I think it was a tuna boat stopping to look for fish and then roaming on. As they saw us they thought they would have a look to see what to them an extremely unusual vessel. We were not really out of their way and we may have broken their boredom.

We do have our wits about us! Most are friendly, but we would NEVER let anyone get so close as to trade fish etc.

Must spot them early enough