Safe & Secure on Board ¨Locked In¨

[Red Sky]

Originally Posted by RainDog

Sounds like you are saying you take sensible precautions and then don't stress about it.

Exactly, no stress, no obsess, because I know nobody's going to take my stuff. As has been said here before, the wolves are always going to be out there, you can be a sheep or a sheepdog. I choose to be the sheepdog. I wish bad things didn't happen to anyone, but that's not realistic. I have a saying, "Life in war time". It means, bad things ARE going to happen, better they happen to you than me.

[MarkJ]

The Peter Blake killing shows you cant let your guard down.
They always had someone on watch till they returned to that tow which they thought was safe. Or so that link says.

The difficulty with a 9pm attack is its too early to secure. Similar time as that Union Island machete attack a few months ago.

[kitrob]

Been sailing around NZ waters for 40 years (gee I'm getting old) and have never even thought to lock up at night. But that is NZ and there is no doubt that the habits much change for different locations. Would I apply the same habit if I was anchoring off the Ethiopean coast - hardly. So it is clearly a no brainier. Each place is different.
Peter Blake's situation would have been very different if he had simply let them take what the pirates wanted -watches, cash etc. what in hindsight Peter did wrong was to challenge them. They were not there to murder him. Just wanted some 'stuff'. As a consequence of this incident it is pretty accepted that if you are woken to pirates on board lie down and leave them to it. Obviously try some bargaining but in any event do not bring out the firearms. The risk is too great and you will likely come off second best. Your life, or certainly mine anyway, is not worth the risk of losing in order to save stuff.

[Amapola]

We lock up.

[Neptune's Gear]

IMO you guys often overestimate the threat.
Location is important, but the amount of crime in any major city anywhere is higher than all the cruisers in the world combined. Acts of piracy are actually quite rare, and are then talked about for years.
Normally we don't lock the boat at night. However, in some locations we have. I have aluminium security screen hatch boards covered in mosy netting -stainless steel- that we used in some areas (Malacca Straits, Papua New Guinea etc etc) locked on the inside. It is not goods it's there for, but so no-one could enter the boat without us knowing. The fwd hatch was fitted with bars so a person could not get in.
Tread lightly, speak with the locals, be polite and respectful, and you will almost certainly be OK.

One final thing I'd like to say about Sir Peter Blake, whom I respect immensely. His last act was a fatal mistake. To retrieve a weapon when there are 5 or more armed pirates on the boat is not sensible, even for a trained specialist. He was not. He was trying to protect his crew-member who was being pistol whipped. Understandable, but a mistake never the less. Rambo is fictional.

[wanderer1]

My last time in Nassau ,Bahamas,I was boarded by 2 people at i:10 in the morning.I had no doubt they were coming on board to kill me and my girlfriend to steal my boat and get it out of there before daylight .One came over the stern and one over the b ow,Chased them off with with my flare gun.Had to stay 3 days for the investigation

[tryrsh]

Was in Nassau, last week. The consensus seemed to be it's not safe to be in the anchorage there, and it's best to take a slip in a marina with security. Can't recommend the place.

[beetlejuice30]

"Locks are only for honest people"

Not sure of origin

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by tryrsh

Was in Nassau, last week. The consensus seemed to be it's not safe to be in the anchorage there, and it's best to take a slip in a marina with security. Can't recommend the place.

It isn't safe there. I think for many places the threat is underestimated, not overestimated. IMO, people who say it is overestimated are cruising a different area than those places where it is underestimated… if you can still follow me

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Neptune's Gear

IMO you guys often overestimate the threat.
One final thing I'd like to say about Sir Peter Blake, whom I respect immensely. His last act was a fatal mistake. To retrieve a weapon when there are 5 or more armed pirates on the boat is not sensible, even for a trained specialist. He was not. He was trying to protect his crew-member who was being pistol whipped. Understandable, but a mistake never the less. Rambo is fictional.

Sir Peter Blake died an honorable death protecting those he loved and cared for. He DID NOT make a mistake. To stand there wearing soiled shorts watching something like this take place and do nothing to prevent it.... is cowardly.

[RainDog]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Sir Peter Blake died an honorable death protecting those he loved and cared for. He DID NOT make a mistake. To stand there wearing soiled shorts watching something like this take place and do nothing to prevent it.... is cowardly.

Suggesting there is a moral imperative to commit suicide seems a little much. Note that as it happened he also did nothing to prevent it.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by RainDog

Suggesting there is a moral imperative to commit suicide [do something] seems a little much.

In our house... there is a moral imperative. The same on our boat.

[Dale Hedtke]

My dad taught me that locks are to deter the honest. If someone is intent on getting in, they most likely will. The trick is to make it unappealing and time consuming to get in.

Also, consider how strong are your defenses? Our main companionway's hasp is held on with #6 screws. A good yank....

Further, how much of your time and energy do you want to put into protecting your property? Certainly it depend on where you are and just how valuable the property is, but I'm not one to be overly concerned. Have I had things stolen? Yes, and I didn't like it, but there are bigger fish to fry so to speak.

A previous poster mentioned wearing your seat belt. There are many things you can do in the way you live that can reduce your overall risk. Pay attention there too.

[bornyesterday]

It may be that Blake stupidly risked the lives of his crew in a juvenile imitation of Rambo but I think it unlikely.
It's certain that his action cost his life but it's possible that it also saved the lives of his crew.
Reports state that the pirates left with just an outboard and a few watches.
Maybe they left in a hurry because of the possibility of shots having been heard and because one of them was wounded. Shot in the hand I believe - painful but a light enough injury that he could still leave the scene and hope to get away. I'd guess that if a pirate or two were killed the rest might just shoot everyone.
With a rifle at close quarters I wouldn't expect to survive long enough to get more than one or two shots off against half a dozen pirates.
Blake seems to have been someone who would have known this too.
But we can only guess

[bobconnie]

I do have gun's aboard, in a soild mounted locked gun locker. But the contents of it are one 12 gauge hunting shotgun, and a 25-06 hunting rifle. NO Pistols of any kind. I have serveral flare guns one of which is a 10 gauge. None of these is available as personal protection! But I also have serveral cane knifes stowed about the boat ! We do lock up after dark, and have steel grates for our hatchs and companionway! So far this has been enough to keep us pretty free from theft, except for a few things lost from on deck! Winch handles binocuars and such ! We also have a seperate battrey powerd deck lights whitch we use everynight in any ancorage! Im 75 and athough Im BIG Im sure not a bad ass!! But I sure look the part with a cane knife in my hands! LOL. We sorta feel if ya lock up you are a LOT safer !! Just our 2 cents