What's Your Opinion? Firearms or Not?

[Boracay]

A little interpretation of the figures provided suggests that the chances of being attacked when visiting a "pirate prone" area to be of the order of one in one thousand.

Sufficiently risky to cause one to plan very carefully.

[GordMay]

PIRACY - Incidents fall worldwide, but Nigeria worsens
”... In its Guidance to Masters, the Gard Group, which is a shipowner-controlled provider of P&I insurance, makes several recommendations to protect ships from attacks ...”
Goto: NXTbook flash detection page

[hellosailor]

Oh jeez, more nimrods [nxtbook] who can't figure out that PDF already owns the page display markup. I hope their security credentials are better than their publishing and internet ones.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by kesey

44'cruisingcat, lest the 1% cause restless sleep at night...be assured that satire is alive and well and living in Ireland.

Apologies to all I've offended. As Flann O'Brien said, my arguement is fallacious being based on licenced premises.

I need a sail!! And there's a long weekend coming so I'll have a good one.

Kesey, if I'd known you were from the emerald isle that would have removed the 1% of doubt.

Hope you have a magical long weekend.

[eskfreedom]

I am going to take my M4 and I am not going to declare it. I am going to take it apart and hide it in my super secret hiding place in a pelican case. When I go off shore in pirate infested waters I will have it assembled and ready. Everybody talks about pirates pirates pirates. Frankly I'm not worried about them at all. Chances are I will never see one or have to deal with one. I like to shoot guns! Its fun! Leaving without a gun would be like leaving without my surfboard or snorkel gear. I'm not taking my gun out of fear I'm taking it out of "its something I would like to have on my boat". I know how much trouble I would get in to in some countries but I have a "super secret hiding place" and unless they tear my boat in to little pieces they are not going to find it. People smuggle drugs, guns, people,fruit and everything else. I think I can hide a little M4.

[delmarrey]

Do you think your little M4 can compete with today's pirates?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4409662.stm

You have been watching too many movies.

[eskfreedom]

I'm absolutely confindent I could deture a high speed boat with 8 to 10 men armed with AK47's and possibly RPG's. I might be in trouble if they have a .50 cal though. My "little" M4 is a very formidable weppon in the right hands. But all that crap aside. Pirates are the last of my worries. If I so happen to die fending off pirates with my "little" M4 I will consider my mission for freedom and adventure complete. I would have to say. I would rather die fending off pirates then die from cancer, a car wreak or worse a work related injury

[eskfreedom]

Another thread down!!

[CaptainK]

Well, to those who think a simple handgun or shotgun will protect you. You may want to read what this site has to say about modern day piracy.

Modern High Seas Piracy

[cat man do]

After wading through most of these site's recently it would seem that commercial shipping is the target in most cases though.

Saying that, there are cases in the Red Sea area where yachties are targeted.

I am hoping the Malacca Straight's are still safe for non-comercial boat's as after holidaying in Langkawi and Penang areas for 3 week's we are more than keen on baseing our boat up here for an indefinite period.

We spoke to quite a few yachties while there, and eventualy asked the question [ felt like a goose for doing it ] about any attack's heard of.

They all reckoned that they had heard of none that were actual attack's, but a few pannicky types had been approached by boat's, but mostly you are left totally alone by everyone.

A map I got from the ICC site ICC Commercial Crime Services show's a couple of attempted attack flag's up near Langkawi which is a cause for concern though

They also said that Indonesia was a totally different story and to get through that part of town as far out and as fast as possible as official looking characters in official looking boat's have behaved in a not very official way and did make one feel quite uncomfortable at times.

There's no way that i'd consider pulling gun's on any of these guy's though.

I think it's best just to avoid the hotspot's that affect yachties which as mentioned earlier seem to mainly be the Red Sea area and arguably Indonesia.

Dave

[hellosailor]

Dave, I wonder if it would help if you struck colors at the firs sight of pirates, and hoisted a military ensign instead.

SOME of them just take a second thought and say "chicky the cops!"

OTOH I understand some paintball vendors will sell a de-milled but perfectly operational looking shoulder aimed missile launcher for about $400US. I wonder how the sight of a couple of those coming up on deck while someone broke out a military ensign would work?

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Dave, I wonder if it would help if you struck colors at the firs sight of pirates, and hoisted a military ensign instead.

SOME of them just take a second thought and say "chicky the cops!"

OTOH I understand some paintball vendors will sell a de-milled but perfectly operational looking shoulder aimed missile launcher for about $400US. I wonder how the sight of a couple of those coming up on deck while someone broke out a military ensign would work?

Gee mate, i'll let you run out the fake Military flag's and wave your dodgy RPG around first.

If you have a result let me know.

Might have the same result as pulling a rubber knife or a plastic gun on the cop's over there me think's.

Dave.

[cat man do]

Interesting read.

Guns On Board || MaritimeSecurity.com

Dave

[cat man do]

As was this, for those of you with them.

Taken from
General bits and pieces on cruising.

In 1987, while we were in Venezuela, an American cruiser had gone to the bank to get cash to pay, the next day, for a dinghy he had ordered. As he was riding on the bus back to the anchorage, he pulled out his wad of money (at the time, US$1.00 = 50 Vz Bolivares) and showed everybody what a huge wad $800.00 US was. That night armed thieves boarded his boat with the intent of stealing his money. He ran out into the cockpit waving his gun, which panicked the thieves who shot him dead. What were his mistakes? Lots. The biggest was waving such a huge amount of cash around – several YEARS income for many Venezuelans. We would never do that – we would make arrangements to pay for a purchase and bring the cash within an hour of withdrawing it from the bank. We would arrange with the bank to receive the cash out of sight of the general public (in poor countries, this is common and the banks have the procedures to do this). And we do not carry a gun to threaten or panic a thief. (see “thieves” in the dictionary)

Dave

[Lancerbye]

Yeah pull in to a dock with a $50+ New Motor Yacht and act poor. LOL