Boarded with bad intentions?

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by GTom

Wow, did all 3 happen in the Seychelles?

Once in the Philippines, twice in the Seychelles.

I'm fairly certain it was the same guy both times in the Seychelles, happened only a couple of nights apart, he scored well the first night and some how reasoned he would the 2nd time.

The Seychelles is a very cool place and really not that dangerous, theres two anchorages to keep out of, I didn't know this. They aren't violent generally, theres a drug problem which creates a theft problem.

It was a kid in the Philippines. This is my problem with a gun, I do not accidentally want to kill a poor kid that wants a phone, my presence on my little super yacht causes envy.

[Hardhead]

Originally Posted by daletournier

It was a kid in the Philippines. This is my problem with a gun, I do not accidentally want to kill a poor kid that wants a phone, my presence on my little super yacht causes envy.

That's a good point.

[Cheechako]

I had a trip line loud siren device in the cockpit. Best $10 I ever spent for peace of mind.

[Hardhead]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I had a trip line loud siren device in the cockpit. Best $10 I ever spent for peace of mind.

That's a good solution, and if trip line visibility is a concern, 50 lb fluorocarbon fishing line is also extremely difficult to see.

Is this something like you have?

https://www.amazon.com/Tripwire-Emer...tronics&sr=1-3

[a64pilot]

I have a 12V motion floodlight, someone pokes their head into the cockpit, the light comes on and is pointed in their face.
I rarely plug it in, so far never been anywhere I felt the need

[mfw]

Most will be bare footed. Long tacks in thin carpet when stood on causes noise and pain enough to make you aware of the individual

[Saleen411]

From the responses so far, it looks like only Dale has been boarded.

Hopefully more will chime in.

I keep in touch with a friend that recently completed an 8 year circumnavigation. He is anti gun for fear of losing his boat or worse, but has first hand knowledge of cruisers who were actually attacked while anchored or at sea.

His advise is SAFETY in NUMBERS. I subscribe to that. I don't think I would be anchoring alone in St Vincent or St Lucia.

[KTP]

What about bear spray?

[Hardhead]

Originally Posted by KTP

What about bear spray?

I've heard the issue can be that it incapacitates both people. It floats around in the air. All depends I guess.

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by KTP

What about bear spray?

MHO is that if intruders armed with guns break into your yacht in the middle of the night, bear spray or ANY non-lethal defense is worthless.

If alarms and lights don't scare them off you're screwed.

[Jdege]

In some jurisdictions, making any preparations for self-defense can get you charged for possession of an offensive weapon.

In others, having a firearm is perfectly fine.

Assuming you're in a jurisdiction something more like formed than the latter, you want to reach for something that would normally be there, rather than something that would obviously have been kept for self defense.

And while some have mentioned knives, they're a poor choice. It's easy to kill someone with a knife, but it's hard to stop someone with a knife. Even if you do cut them in a fatal spot, they can do you a lot of damage in the five to seven minutes it takes them to bleed out.

The old saying was the winner of a knife fight is the one they take away in the ambulance.

Grab something you have, that has some heft to it, and isn't too cumbersome in tight spaces, and pound on them.

[gruffa]

Soggypaws has some advice on what they used for their boats
svsoggypaws.com/miscellaneous.htm
scroll down to the Security heading.
Includes alarm, infrared sensors, bear spray..

[gruffa]

I also spoke with a couple that were boarded while anchored in Ecuador somewhere. Heard a bump alongside in the night. Went up and were confronted by armed men. The male of the couple had a gun in his mouth while they demanded money. Fortunately a cruiser nearby heard a commotion and trained his strong searchlight on their boat. It was enough to scare off the attackers.
Very frightening.
I think anything you can do to avoid contact is the primary focus.
Plus a loud alarm and bright lights to draw attention if you're in an anchorage.
If you didn't have the alarm though, I wonder what they'd do if you were hunkered inside behind your bars and they were still demanding stuff. I suppose you'd hand, or throw, money and valuables through the bars to start.

[Sojourner]

I've replied to some of these threads before because it is something I've put time and energy into. I don't think above the safest: fortifying your boat against entry. At least at anchor, it seems the best idea. We have a solid wood companionway slider and thick fiberglass top, and had built a large L-shaped stainless steel cover for it (sounds bulkier than it is, I'll get a pic and post it later). It goes over the place where the lock and two halves meet, and is very very difficult to even angle grind through in any amount of time. Security bars on all of the human-sized hatches, and a panic room of the aft cabin with metal door, and serious internal lock. So if there is any boarding (notified by either waking up or additional sensors or tin cans or whatever) you can wake up in your impenetrable room, grab your phone and VHF (keep one in there) and start calling for help and/or activate any sirens/strobes you might have (we do). Any additional weapons are up to you. But I dont think many thieves, armed or not, will stay hanging around a buttoned up boat that would take dozens of minutes to even enter under those conditions. And it is legal and safest for the vast majority of cruisers not used to armed confrontations.

[belizesailor]

So far only one reply who experienced an actual boarding w ill intent. I think that answers the original question: its not common vs the number of boats cruising.

If you look at the events reported on CSSN the total number per year is relatively small.