Take the Anti-Piracy Pledge

[belizesailor]

How many have actually signed your pledge?

[pete33458]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

Here's my pledge.

"I am a citizen of the most powerful nation on earth. Over my lifetime I have probably paid over $2m in US federal taxes.

I deserve at least one tomahawk missile expended on my behalf. Please direct it as close as possible to the location of the house of the warlord who has authorized the piracy that caused me to be kidnapped.

Then negotiate my release with anyone who may be left alive."

Fight terror with absolute terror...

THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!!

Not too sure about the "most powerful nation" thing though, maybe more appropriate to say "formerly the most powerful nation, still in the top 5..."

Pete

[MarkJ]

Real pirates don't give a rats bum about your money. The Chandlers and the Dutch family were ransomed back to their family after Mums, Dads, sisters, brothers, uncles and Aunties had sold off all their realestate and borrowed as much as they could from banks. Neither government helped. The families did it quick and fast after the 13 year old captured daughter was going to be married to the pirate chief.

So its not the cruiser and your precious few dollars. Its all your families money, all they have ever earned in their lives, all their savings they were going to send their kids to school on, to retire on, to do what you are doing.

The cruisers who don't realize this are just selfish.

Pirates don't want you. They want every cent your family has, has had, can get, and will be able to get in the future.



Pirate with a gun? Or a fishermen? You only know when your feet kiss the sand in Somalia.


About to die? Or about to be sold fish?


Mark

[Canibul]

We need to elect some of these pirates to Congress where we can keep an eye on them.

[pbmaise]

I have new first hand information and will post the apparent new rules and joint local opinion in a separate thread.

I apologize if I wasn't clear. There is no such thing as giving anything for my release if taken. No money, no exchange, no communication.

The guarantee is for 37 years my family will act as stated unless I am released unharmed and nothing was given in return.

There are people in this world that believe their loved ones are more important than other people. They are the ones that have led to these situations.

Other local sailors have all told me they have made similar requests to their families.

I am perhaps to do so in public. I own the largest sailing yacht in the area, am an American, and travel with a large crew. I am certainly concerned I would be an attractive target.

Regarding the questions about language and who would read this website. I think it suffice to say everyone my message is intended for, has a cell phone, speaks English, and heard of Google.

BTW if anyone reading this decides to challenge the resolve of a family like mine, be sure to have my medicines refrigerated. They do not care how or why I died. They care if I come to harm.

Recommendations will be posted under title Safely sailing in the Philippines




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[goboatingnow]

Clarification. My boat is registered in Volcano Hawaii. I am currently in The Philippines where two German sailors were kidnapped from their vessel. I sail in this same area. I was in Puerto Princesa when their vessel was towed in.

To some of you, piracy and kidnapping is obviously a joke.

It is something I have known since childhood. I lived in GB during regular bombings. One occured just two blocks down my street.

If you need a quick reminder of what some of know read:

We have all lived in "GB" ( as a fact the vast majority of them took place in NI, which isn't actually in GB , but however) during the "bombings". How that relates to pirates is completely lost on me.

Believe you me , pirates are no joke, nor is being on the wrong end of a gun at any stage ( don't ask me how I know that ).

But your initial post is a complete JOKE. To suggest that you should be allowed to dictate how your family and loved ones might act if you were kidnapped is nonsense.

To suggest that you ( or others who are kidnapped) shouldn't communicate to your hostage takers is further nonsense

I think you suffer from the American ( or should I say Western) disease that problems are solved by RAMBO movies.

Thank goodness, GB ( as you put it ) more correctly the UK had a little more gumption in dealing with those "bombings" you mentioned, Funnily a few of those involved in such bombings are in a devolved Government at the moment. Nought as strange as people.

The last thing anyone needs is "zealots" on either side of the problem, pirates or their victims. pirates that are pragmatic, i.e. just want money are far preferable to those that are zealots, the first can be satisfied with cash, the second want your head.

It should be noted for example that actually very few deaths occurred amongst the victims of Somali pirates, they just wanted cash. Answer = give it to them.

The key to removing pirates is direct military action against pirates, and thats what happened in Somalia, but the key is not to play "rambo" with individual hostages or their captors.

Dave

[Randyonr3]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

Here's my pledge.

Fight terror with absolute terror...

My thoughts exactly...... Alyaway felt that If I'm going out of this world in where I have no control over the situation, I'm going to take every SOB around me, with me..
And God Help them If I get the upper hand on the situation as I'm about the most morbid person they would ever incounter.

[Sandibar]

I certainly understand your concern regarding your own position with a large yacht in the area you are cruising
.

There are people in this world that believe their loved ones are more important than other people. They are the ones that have led to these situations.

- I would guess this is true for 99% of the population on this planet, especially in a situation where you can save your loved one's life with money and some unspecified future threat to others is the downside.

Regarding the questions about language and who would read this website. I think it suffice to say everyone my message is intended for, has a cell phone, speaks English, and heard of Google.

I'm not very familiar with the Philippines, so have to ask: are you suggesting that local pirates and would be kidnappers will find this pledge on CF, understand its contents and be deterred by it? Do pirates make online background checks on their victims before they move in? I would guess that a public announcement in local media would be much more effective.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif View Post
Here's my pledge.

Fight terror with absolute terror...
My thoughts exactly...... Alyaway felt that If I'm going out of this world in where I have no control over the situation, I'm going to take every SOB around me, with me..
And God Help them If I get the upper hand on the situation as I'm about the most morbid person they would ever incounter.

I would have thought that the events in various parts of Persia would make it clear that simple "nuke them" really doesn't work, It may bring a temporary halt,. but unless the underlying issues are resolved in some way the problem re-emerges , often in a far more violent way.

These "nuke em" claims are great sound bites, unfortunately conflict resolution all around the world has shown that its a lot more complicated then that.

Lets leave the negotiations to the negotiators.

Back to your regular sailing commentary .......



dave

[onestepcsy37]

Or, you can take the Piracy Pledge -

Less Work
More Pay
Better Rum

[tbodine88]

My Anti-Pirate pledge

I pledge myself, my crew, my vessel, not to be used to restrict the freedom of others, nor to deprive them of their possessions or loved ones.

And for now, I propose only to sail inland waters of the continental US, until I move to Hawaii

[Neptune's Gear]

The Piracy problem is not something that is easily solved.
It is easy to sit in your office writing on a forum what should be done, or what you would do, but let me tell you it's another story when you are faced with it.

I was in the Indian Ocean, heading NW at the time of the taking of the Quest and ING. We were lucky, and eventually turned back. At one time we were pursued for several hours, but we were fortunate with conditions allowing us to outrun the pursuing vessel (not a skiff, a 50-60 ft fishing boat with about 15 men aboard)...
As the patrolled corridor became more difficult for the Somali Pirates, they spread across pretty much the whole Indian Ocean (at that time, I have not kept up with the current situation) - motherships were reported as far as 40 Deg South, although no vessels were taken that far down.

Whatever weapons you may or may not carry, the pirate vessel/vessels will have more. Some are very desperate, and will not easily be deterred. You will not really know how you will react until/if it happens, or you have actual military combat experience. To say you will do this or that is just bravado.

You can tell your families not to do anything, but you cannot control what they actually do in the event of your capture.

International waters should be free to transit, and all nations should ensure free, unhindered passage. But they don't.

May none of you have to gain first hand experience!

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Neptune's Gear

The Piracy problem is not something that is easily solved.
It is easy to sit in your office writing on a forum what should be done, or what you would do, but let me tell you it's another story when you are faced with it.

I was in the Indian Ocean, heading NW at the time of the taking of the Quest and ING. We were lucky, and eventually turned back. At one time we were pursued for several hours, but we were fortunate with conditions allowing us to outrun the pursuing vessel (not a skiff, a 50-60 ft fishing boat with about 15 men aboard)...
As the patrolled corridor became more difficult for the Somali Pirates, they spread across pretty much the whole Indian Ocean (at that time, I have not kept up with the current situation) - motherships were reported as far as 40 Deg South, although no vessels were taken that far down.

Whatever weapons you may or may not carry, the pirate vessel/vessels will have more. Some are very desperate, and will not easily be deterred. You will not really know how you will react until/if it happens, or you have actual military combat experience. To say you will do this or that is just bravado.

You can tell your families not to do anything, but you cannot control what they actually do in the event of your capture.

International waters should be free to transit, and all nations should ensure free, unhindered passage. But they don't.

May none of you have to gain first hand experience!

^^^^ Good one Matt

[natraps116]

Well,

I'm all for living, that's why I never intend to be in those high risks areas, but if I find my boat and my crew under attack, then the pirates better be willing to have a gun fight. I've seen enough beheading videos to ever beg for my life on camara. My crew knows, if they keep coming after we're out of bullets or injured. Then they wernt really interested in ransom anyway. Criminals look for easy targets. FACT. resistance makes it not worth it. They would rather take the next boat of unarmed cruisers.

Just my opinion. And the way the world is looking these days I suspect there will only be more desperate people in areas we usually consider "safe"

Just my two cents

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[pbmaise]

There are several big differences here.

When you think of piracy, you probably think of a moving vessel being attacked. Here we are dealing with a group that typically plans an attack against a Western or Chinese national anchored in a yacht or staying long term in a resort. When a group storms a resort and nabs just one person, ignores others, and commits no theft it is obvious that person was researched.

The reason S.V. Catherine was found with money and computers untouched is: while kidnapping is more wrong to us; stealing property is more wrong to them.

Last night I spoke with a police officer who confirmed three things:

1. To date it appears no demand for money has been made. None is expected.

2. He agreed the powers of any authorities is secondary to those of business owners. They are the ones that storm his office and demand specific interventions.

3. A key difference between the "problem" area and the rest of the Philippines is the percentage of female and ethnic Chinese business owners. It is these types of owners that place economics first and politics second.

Education and opportunity for women here is vital for stability.

The local sailing community here, and people likely to be reading these posts, know what is not being explained in full.

Again, if you wish to post pithy, creative replies, go to the joke forum. This is no joke.

Again, this is a fantastic place to visit. Just follow a few minimal recommendations and you will be safer here than any sailing trip in US, Mexico, and most of the Carib.

No piracy occurs in those places, instead it is something worse. You just don't read about it since it happens so often it isn't news.


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