How to Avoid Somali Pirates ?

[Reckless]

Originally Posted by samson

i was thinking the same thing there are self protection paintball's that are filled with some nasty stuff same as regular paintballs if you can freeze them fast they dont stretch and that is like shooting a pall bearing out of a cannon. all of my paintball guns shoot upwards of 15 balls per second its a pretty intimidating thing seeing these balls flying at you hahaha.

[/QUOTE]

Are their any restrictions with paintball guns?? In my searches I found this company PepperBall Technologies Incorporated | Law Enforcement & Corrections | Products

they make pepper paintballs, look like the regular thing but shoot pepper powder, they also have a neat little unit that looks more like a flashlight.


I thought this would be great for those situations that are unknown, rather then opening fire on some helpless fisherman or lost sailor, you could have your light on them and if things escalate you are ready to go.

[samson]

yes there are restrictions on paintball guns but no were near as strict as real guns. the only country i know of that enforces any paintball restrictions is Germany. they consider them a weapon and if found they will tax you on them and then have a sticker put on them saying it complies with there laws and has been taxed.

new Zealand i am told does not allow pepper spray in the country as well.

Are their any restrictions with paintball guns?? In my searches I found this company PepperBall Technologies Incorporated | Law Enforcement & Corrections | Products

they make pepper paintballs, look like the regular thing but shoot pepper powder, they also have a neat little unit that looks more like a flashlight.

Attachment 20129
I thought this would be great for those situations that are unknown, rather then opening fire on some helpless fisherman or lost sailor, you could have your light on them and if things escalate you are ready to go.[/QUOTE]

[samson]

Originally Posted by jmo64

i am currently finishing up college and will with any luck be enlisting in the coastguard and be off to basic training by the end of December!

Samson- Those quotes are from your Meets and Greets today. Here you have "spent a career blowing up toys wit very expensive hardware." You've also had "enough of that part of the world for the last 20 years".

Which is it? Pleased to meet you...hope you guessed my name-Rolling Stones

yes i messed up the quote all that is yours, just the top part is mine. you are completely correct. but i do have experience in what i have stated. paintball markers are amazing, m80s scare the crap out of people and i completely agree with you on the firearms i did not say anything wrong towards you.

i have spent my whole 18 years of my life out of the united states. I grew up as a military brat moving from place to place my mom worked remote embassy assignments and i grew up all over.

i do have experience in what i have stated. i have never blown more then a cinder block up with a simulation grenade. in Germany i worked as a recreation aid at the MWR in Baumholder and i fixed and sold paintball markers. my only experience with the M80s is because the soldiers i met growing up were young and liked to do stupid stuff

John

[jmo64]

As iI said in the Meets and Greets Good Luck in the USCG and have fun! But the two statements in quotations are yours from your above post.

Good luck and have fun!

[VirtualVagabond]

I've never even seen one, but I heard that in the US they have taser parties to sell them, mainly to women, along with tupperware, lingerie, and various other products to make women feel 'happy'.

Tasers disguised as cell phones could be good. Half a dozen stuck around the boat.... just not next to the bed, on his side, and particularly not on hers!!!!!!

[svBeBe]

Tasers and paint ball guns and hand-thrown Molotov cocktails against RPGs and AK47s. This is getting a bit silly.

Judy
S/V BeBe

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond

I've never even seen one, but I heard that in the US they have taser parties to sell them, mainly to women, along with tupperware, lingerie, and various other products to make women feel 'happy'...

Originally Posted by svBeBe

Tasers and paint ball guns and hand-thrown Molotov cocktails against RPGs and AK47s. This is getting a bit silly

Indeed ➥ Forget Tupperware; it's Taser party time - Business - Local business - msnbc.com

This has been more than “a bit” silly, for more than a long time.

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by svBeBe

Tasers and paint ball guns and hand-thrown Molotov cocktails against RPGs and AK47s. This is getting a bit silly.

Judy
S/V BeBe

You can't be serious. Give your fellow cruisers credit for having a few grey cells left, although choosing the Pirate Alley Gauntlet over the Cape Wine Route is a reason for doubt...

I can't believe anyone thinks we're suggesting a face off at 50 yards, AK47 vs Taser.
It's more a case of the cruiser who has nothing, or the cruiser who has something for a possible moment of opportunity to disable one or 2 rogues who have boarded, or are about to.

[Bluesman]

Originally Posted by maytrix

I was thinking about ways to fend them off if you were ever in that situation. I'd prefer to avoid it completely myself - I figure why take the chance.

Anyway, what about a molotov cocktail? Have some prepared and if a skiff comes close and you feel threatened, toss a few into their boat

Perhaps it will ignite their fuel supply. Perhaps they will catch on fire. Perhaps they'll be so busy trying to put it out..etc that you can get away. The only other perhaps is that they put it out quick an start shooting at you.

A wee story , a true one though it didn't happen in the Gulf of Aden , to set the stage , an Alaskan crabber and longliner of long expierence comes into some money , spend a slew of it on a Sparkman and Stephens 82 and a couple of years restoring her. Naturally he figures to take a couple of years off and go jaunting about , Alaskans being what they are he naturally takes his wife and invites quite a few friends , ending up with 7 men and 4 women aboard. Much rollicking adventure ensues , getting thrown out of a couple of yatch clubs and asked to leave Nassua.

So these brigands decide to explore the coast of Veneszuela on their way back to the Canal and points pacific.

And sure enought they're anchored out one fine morning with gent by the way of Gruff on watch , now Gruff fits his name and says very little so when he DOES say something the guys tend to pay attention , so when he sticks his head below decks and says that a couple of pirogues with unfriendly looking armed guys are approaching the scramble starts , keep in mind folks that these are Alaska fishermen we're talking about and there t'ain't a commercial boat in Alaska that's unarmed so in short order there are hairy , hungover , bleary-eyed Alaskans popping up out of every hatch with a sorts of artillery and implements of mayhem and destruction , then of course TreeTop ( so named because he's five foot five whether standing , sitting or laying on his side and has arem that hang to his knees) and PeeWee ( who most assuredly ISN'T a pee wee) are lowering MobyDickLess the dinghy and firing up his overpowered 35 horse motor and commence to run out and start circling the two pirogues at excessive speeds , singing old sea shanties and waving a baseball bat and a shotgun.

The two pirogues full of armed Venezuelans split and the Alaskans went back to drinking much rum and making way towards the Canal.

Certain other hilarious stories about that trip , though some can't be related until the statute of limitations runs out.

And frankly after dealing with 34 degrees , 60 knot winds and 30 foot seas in the Bering while trieing to haul or set pot for Opelios or Kings some wannabe badguys in the Carribean aren't going to faze these guys much.

What's been said in this thread is true , the socalled 'pirates' want to cull the one from the 'herd' that will be the least trouble and the most acquiescent , it's the same with criminals the world round , on the hard or on the water. And if the mouse suddenly turns into a badger often they don't quite know what to make of it.

Does this mean I think all should go armed? Nope that's not the answer for some folks , however if more folks did , folks who were competent with their weaponry , then perhaps the pirates would be a bit more hesitant , not knowing who may be armed and who may not be armed. Who knows but what a few holed skiffs and ventilated motors might help to adjust their attitudes a bit.

Me? Some of y'all will think I've the wrong attitude , 'cause I ain't agonna give up my boat without a scrap , but then I am from Texas and we WERE dumb enough to fight for the Alamo.

At any rate , while there are areas where I'd exercise caution ,I'm not about to let the threat of pirates stop me from going somewhere anymore than I'd avoid Larsens Bay 'cause of the bears.

[Bluesman]

Originally Posted by svBeBe

Tasers and paint ball guns and hand-thrown Molotov cocktails against RPGs and AK47s. This is getting a bit silly.

Judy
S/V BeBe

Agreed. Though Molotov cocktails could be used expeditiously.


Look lets get to brass tacks folks , *IF* you're going to carry a weapon then it well behooves you to be proficient in it's usage , and I DON'T mean putting a single box downrange once a year and calling it good.

But also don't be overly impressed by surplus ComBloc RPGs , nor for that matter the ubiquitous AK47 , a weapon that is utilised for it's cheap availability and reliability more than for it's accuracy and efficiency.

Want to 'repel boarders'? Then buy a cheap pump action shotgun and supply up on 00 buckshot , get good enough with a bolt action of decent caliber that you can deply the bipod and still manage to hit from a rolling deck ( yes it can be done , and at extended yardage) get good enough with that sidearm to double tap and drop six falling plates in less than ten seconds WITH a magazine change.

If you won't put in the practice to become proficient in their use then leave the firearms at home.

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by Bluesman

... it well behooves you to be proficient in it's usage , and I DON'T mean putting a single box downrange once a year and calling it good.

... buy a cheap pump action shotgun and supply up on 00 buckshot , get good enough with a bolt action of decent caliber that you can deply the bipod and still manage to hit from a rolling deck ( yes it can be done , and at extended yardage) get good enough with that sidearm to double tap and drop six falling plates in less than ten seconds WITH a magazine change.

Not that I think this is any way extreme, or that this thread has become rediculous...

BUT... in the time it would take to get that good, and the money you'd have spent on weapons, AND burnt down the barrels...

You could have spent a few months soaking up Cape wines, visiting great game parks, then headed to Rio for the greatest Mardi Gras on the planet... tracked north, then across the Atlantic... and you'd be bobbing around the Greek Isles at about the time you'd be contemplating running Pirate Alley.
Of course you'd miss out on cutting those nice little notches on the butt to impress everyone in the bars... you know, the ones that don't listen anyway beacuse they're trying to impress you with their bullsh*t..

[VirtualVagabond]

...by the way Bluesman...
I loved your Alaskans story... I'd buy the book

[Bluesman]

Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond

Not that I think this is any way extreme, or that this thread has become rediculous...

BUT... in the time it would take to get that good, and the money you'd have spent on weapons, AND burnt down the barrels...

You could have spent a few months soaking up Cape wines, visiting great game parks, then headed to Rio for the greatest Mardi Gras on the planet... tracked north, then across the Atlantic... and you'd be bobbing around the Greek Isles at about the time you'd be contemplating running Pirate Alley.
Of course you'd miss out on cutting those nice little notches on the butt to impress everyone in the bars... you know, the ones that don't listen anyway beacuse they're trying to impress you with their bullsh*t..

300 dollars for a decent remington or Mossberg pump action 12 gauge , 500 for a Glock , H and K , Springfield Armory etc in .45 acp , .40 s/w or 9mm parabellum , 600 to a thousand for a decent bolt action in a suitable caliber and a scope that will handle marine conditions. Not all that expensive.

Of course this is somewhat locale dependent , for instance if you're spending a lot of time up ALaska way and tned to do a lot of fishing in remote spots onshore you'd best take something suitable to deal with recalcitrant wildlife ( and I've lived bush and trapped for a living ,*nobody* lives bush without a firearm , and in certain locales it goes with you if you get up to visit the outhouse at night , there's a guy in Port Lions ( Kodial Island) that ended up having to shoot a brownie one night while he was sitting in the outhouse , he said it lent a whole new meaning to being scared s***less) .....

And personally I am not about to indulge in the bragging you cite , as old Jeff Cooper once said at Gunsite , nobody should know you're armed until it's the last sound they hear.

Training time can be somewhat of a factor , but not near as much as you seem to think , I recently taught an elderly lady of my acquaintenance how to handle a sidearm , she went from nervously tapping away with a .22 lr Ruger semi auto to dusting a dozen milkjugs filled with water and set at fan radius in under 12 seconds with a clip change with my Sig P220 in .45 acp.


Here's my point in all this silliness , just the act of being prepared to defend ones self will often make criminals go off is search of a less spikey dinosaur to assault. Weapons are nothing more than a tool for a specific task , it's up to the tooluser to use them properly.

That said , yes folks with firearms and no training or improper training make me exceedingly nervous.

But then I'm a bit of a 'gun nut' and have had some fine times shooting trap with a hand thrower and my beat up old Browning Citori out on the open ocean , or dumping a bucket of tennis balls out and plinking 'em with a .22 as they float.

[MarkJ]

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By the way, paintball and molitov cocktails wont work because they need something hard to hit to shatter. The chance of getting one into the actual skiffs is remote.

However have you had a look at your hand flares up close?
Pull the ring and they dont ignoite for 3 seconds... quite a long time in these situations. A plastic bottle with some petrol in it taped to the flare and dropped into a skiff when its along side woiuld be confusing for them. (but not very dangerous), just the flare by itself would be confusing enough and wont harm you when they throw it back.

Riot police use CS gas in paintball but they shatter wehn the hit the ground. They dont shatter when they hit the water.

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by Bluesman

And personally I am not about to indulge in the bragging you cite , as old Jeff Cooper once said at Gunsite , nobody should know you're armed until it's the last sound they hear.

Training time can be somewhat of a factor , but not near as much as you seem to think...

Here's my point in all this silliness , just the act of being prepared to defend ones self will often make criminals go off is search of a less spikey dinosaur to assault. Weapons are nothing more than a tool for a specific task , it's up to the tooluser to use them properly.

.

Bluesman... I seem to have struck a nerve. Wasn't intended. Have a beer on me.

Couple of points:

* I wasn't referring to you specifically, but more a barfly type who seldom has the experience to back the BS. I don't see you in this light because I suspect you're the real deal, but the perception is that you're putting yourself in that kind of company.

* I'm not anti gun at all. Got my first one for my 9th birthday and being ex South African, lived there at a time when most of us living in dodgy areas carried a handgun... usually shoulder holster. Done the hunting thing etc.

So I DO know that to "... get good enough with a bolt action of decent caliber that you can deply the bipod and still manage to hit from a rolling deck ( yes it can be done , and at extended yardage)..."
and "...get good enough with that sidearm to double tap and drop six falling plates in less than ten seconds WITH a magazine change...",

is a skill level that will take a novice longer to achieve than my suggested trip via the Cape.

I guess all I'm saying is, the cruising life is about making wise survival choices and having a good life.
Hell, I headed to Australia to bring my kids up in a safe environment, my cousin stayed in S.Africa. He was murdered before he was 40, for his cell phone! I've got an uncle robbed and shot... wheelchair vegetable for 18 years.

Life's a game of chance anyway, so why not stack it in your favour and use the safer routes now, and travel the high risk areas later when the trouble has moved someplace else?

My Aussie 2c worth, which is now about equal to your US 2c