Cruising Security: Safest Countries

[David_Old_Jersey]

Stop complaining! At least you folks got mentioned on the list!

Although the secret may well be - don't be on any lists

Last Saturday had a problem with a boat in the harbour. Chatted to the boatyard / Chandlery manager and we both wandered off for an extended looksee. Leaving the Chandelry, till and workshop unattended...........without a 2nd thought And neither of us had guns nor were the locals simply too scared of the consequences

Having lived in places / with folks where keeping one hand on yer kidney would be no bad idea, I do find me ever more appreciating civilisation as I get older

[Zednotzee]

Gimme a break! Sierra Leone is #53? Isn't that one of those countries where people get hacked to death with machetes every few years? I'm pretty sure they recently ended a decade long civil war.

[DeepFrz]

Does anyone think those folks crossing our border from the south are really headed for Canada?

Yeah, our paranoid, neo-con government.

[sarafina]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Hi Folks
Which countries would you go to in the bottom 50?

Been to Guatemala would go again.
Been to Mexico, would go again.
Kenya
Thailand

They all have places that are of interest to me.

There are many countries in the 80's and 90's I would go see.

Safe is not a place.. it's a state of mind.

[MarkJ]

An interesting one about the jailed Population. http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi-data/#/2010/JAIL Look up the detail on that and you will see the USA on the world map is Red and many African & South American countries Green. So USA is the 'worst' in the world.

Now look at the previous category: Homicides http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi-data/#/2010/HOMI and you will see the USA has one of the LOWEST number of homicides in the world!! And many of the countries that didn't give a stuff about locking people up have just left them on the streets killing each other...

Maybe sarafina is right that its all perception. Maybe the media hype has given people self loathing... certainly many Americans think the USA has a huge homicde rate... but not at all in world terms.

It might not be the best bit of information to help us work out where the good cruising grounds are (Yes, Rwandan marinas are a bit sparse in the mountains) but these things are an interesting read.

[TrevC]

Yes, but then look at Canada for homicides and percentage of population in jail. The US has a very healthy prison industry

The media is mostly BS and hype though, that's for sure.

[sww914]

The US has a healthy prison population because everything is illegal! In the town where my shop is, a guy got out of jail last week for a drunk in public, bought a pack of cigarettes, lit one up on the sidewalk and was arrested and returned to jail for a probation violation, smoking in public. He was out for 2 hours and 1/2 of that was walking the 3 miles into town to buy the smokes.
I also received 2 letters today. 1 said that if I don't pay my expired vehicle registration before it's 6 months delinquent, they'll impound the car. It is disassembled in my shop right now. The other was a threat of a fine and prosecution for letting my lawn get too long (over 4") from the local fire captain.
I think if I were sitting in my unregistered car, on the lawn, smoking, they'd probably jail me. I can see why, these are very serious offenses and clearly it isn't safe for me to be out among the good law abiding people of California. Who knows, with a guy like me around, I might fail to signal a lane change and endanger the whole county with my recklessness and lack of concern for the well being of others. They might even label me a terrorist and throw me in Guantanimo bay without a trial.

[Doodles]

Some interesting results here ... Thailand is #124 (red) and Malaysia is #22 (green) and their coastlines/cruising grounds pretty similar. I know there are a lot of factors that go into the ranking but it would be hard to visit Malaysia and avoid Thailand.

[Heikki]

Coming from Finland (number 9 in the list), I do not mind the list at all. I have also lived in the US (Colorado) for a few years, but I did feel pretty safe there as well.

But seriously, if I recall the list correctly, most if not all of the Scandinavian countries are on top ten. So, if you or someone is planning to cross the Atlantic to Europe, why would you not head to the Baltic Sea instead of the Mediterranean Sea? The season is a bit shorter, but it sure is safe here. In addition to the sea, there are multiple channels even through Sweden, amazing archipelago of Finland, with a channel connection to largest lakes of Finland. Definately safe, clean, well organized, functional, and uniquely beautiful both in terms of the nature and man built environment.

[jimking100]

I love the subtleness with which MarkJ (my idol) can stir things up while feigning innocence. Of course, everyone takes the bait and "let loose the dogs of war".
Is there really any correlation between this list and safe sailing. I wouldn't be caught dead (well, maybe dead) on the streets of Washington DC at night. However, I would feel perfectly fine on the water in that area. As Chef said in Apocalypse Now.."...never get off the boat".
And by the way Mark....being as pro-gun as you are , you should feel safe anywhere. Say hi to Nikki for me.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by jimking100

Mark....being as pro-gun as you are

Ahhh you slipped up there!!

The rest of my reasons for posting are, as you say total "innocence"

I do take a keen eye on world affairs (I am having one right now!!) and find it interesting to see where I have gone and where we are going reflecting on research such as this.

Just because people are cruising it doesn't mean their minds close down, on the contrary I think its about the first time in our lives that we have had the time to get the ol noggin working. And yes, mine has always run a fraction slow!

Mark

[TexSail]

Originally Posted by sww914

The US has a healthy prison population because everything is illegal! In the town where my shop is, a guy got out of jail last week for a drunk in public, bought a pack of cigarettes, lit one up on the sidewalk and was arrested and returned to jail for a probation violation, smoking in public. He was out for 2 hours and 1/2 of that was walking the 3 miles into town to buy the smokes.
I also received 2 letters today. 1 said that if I don't pay my expired vehicle registration before it's 6 months delinquent, they'll impound the car. It is disassembled in my shop right now. The other was a threat of a fine and prosecution for letting my lawn get too long (over 4") from the local fire captain.
I think if I were sitting in my unregistered car, on the lawn, smoking, they'd probably jail me. I can see why, these are very serious offenses and clearly it isn't safe for me to be out among the good law abiding people of California. Who knows, with a guy like me around, I might fail to signal a lane change and endanger the whole county with my recklessness and lack of concern for the well being of others. They might even label me a terrorist and throw me in Guantanimo bay without a trial.

The kinsfolks said, "Jed, move away from there."

[dana-tenacity]

New Zealand most peaceful, obviously never been to my house!

[jimking100]

A feeble attempt at sarcasm about the guns Mark. I thinks your insights gained while cruising are great and I continue to follow your posts for that reason....and the fact I will be following in your tracks next year (I hope). Keep your keen eye and open mind and I look forward to hearing more about your adventures. Oh yea..."innocence" my hind parts.

[EllanVannin]

Did anyone notice that numbers one and two NZ and Iceland are both likkle likkle islands in the middle of nowhere tee hee! I wonder what influence that has on our Peace Index???? No one is here y'all so yes its kinda quiet!!

Plus I had to laugh at some of the criteria
+ Military expenditure
+ Number of heavy weapons
+ Military capability/sophistication
I live here and I am not really sure we even ticked these boxes when they emailed us the entry form!

+ Jailed population

Cant back this up because I cant be bothered looking it up but our newspapers are always telling us our per capita jailed population rate is second only to USA.....possibly another media scare tactic!!!

Interesting hmmmmmmmmmm :-)