Sailboat Seized with Guns in Tulum, Mexico

[jeremiason]

Here is the link to a local Mexican Newspaper, which reports a cruising sailboat was seized after it ran aground off Tulum, Mexico for illegal possession of weapons two days ago.

The owner, a 33 year old Michagan man and his pregenant 27 year old wife wife have been arrested and their 15 month old child placed in foster care.

The owner said he was enroute from Miami to Panama, when his boat suffered mechanical difficulties and he headed for Mexican waters, ending up on the beach.

Authorities discovered number weapons and ammunition and arrested the couple. Included in the inventory were an AK-47, several other rifles & pistols with over 600 rounds of ammunition.

Decomisan arsenal de un velero encallado en la costas de Tulum; aseguran a dos extranjeros

[GeoPowers]

Thanks for sharing.

[Target9000]

You'd think that... If you had to ground in Mexico due to mechanical difficulties that you'd first deep six anything considered contraband in Mexico, or any country for that matter. Seems the prudent thing to do.

[Kettlewell]

The reef entrances there are tricky, and the reefs are not always that visible until you are right on top of them. Charts aren't good. Plus, once inside at Tulum the holding ground is non-existent. Someone was here on CF recently asking about waypoints and routes for that area--I wonder if there is any connection?

[rebel heart]

Part of me wants to drone on about guns and sailing but my hearts go out to those parents. What a horrible experience being in jail with your child in foster care in a foreign country while your boat is ripped apart.

Damn.

[SVNeko]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Part of me wants to drone on about guns and sailing but my hearts go out to those parents. What a horrible experience being in jail with your child in foster care in a foreign country while your boat is ripped apart.

Agree, but that was an excessive amount of weaponry.

[Kettlewell]

Agree, but that was an excessive amount of weaponry.

Something isn't right about that. Saw lots of Mexican Navy activity in that area when we were there, and we were boarded and inspected offshore. One of the first things they asked us about was weapons onboard.

[The Garbone]

Ehhh, that sucks for them. Should have pitched it over the side or better yet left it at home. All that over a POS AK47. Guy should have realized things change at the boarder.

[Sailtexas]

That seems completely ill advised. It's well known that Mexico forbids unregistered firearms.Any firearms must be registered with proper authorities before arrival, and with documentation explaining what you're planning on doing with them. Hunting is the only activity usually allowed. With that kind of weaponry it's possible they were into illicit activities. Or maybe just very naive and ill informed?

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Sailtexas

That seems completely ill advised. It's well known that Mexico forbids unregistered firearms.Any firearms must be registered with proper authorities before arrival, and with documentation explaining what you're planning on doing with them. Hunting is the only activity usually allowed. With that kind of weaponry it's possible they were into illicit activities. Or maybe just very naive and ill informed?

This forum, and a lot of boats, are full of people who think they are exceptions to the rules. I was re-reading a Pardey book the other night and they talked about getting arrested in some country because they parked on a no-no area that they had no idea about and wasn't listed anywhere. The boat was ripped apart for hours and everything was laid out on the dock.

Nothing came of it, obviously, and they were back on the boat within a few hours.

You might get around the world with an AK47 hung from the bulkhead in plain view, and you might get around the world with a revolver tucked into a piece of cushion you slice open and remove some filling from. You also might end up getting your boat ripped apart, seized, and your child scarred for a long time.

Everyone has to make their choices. As a dad of two little girls I would feel a lot happier with some firearms on board if they were legal everywhere we went. But they're not, that's reality, and I have a better chance of having my family end up in prison than I do shooting some bad guys.

[Target9000]

Eric,

Its cool. Everyone has an opinion on the wisdom of bringing weapons aboard. Its been discussed ad nauseum. So why delve into it again just because we all have strong feelings on the subject?

Putting aside the questionability of bringing firearms in the first place... The fact remains that the guy went to Mexico with guns on his boat. And the question remains, why didn't he just pitch them? Was he ignorant or did he consider himself above their law?

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Target9000

Eric,

Its cool. Everyone has an opinion on the wisdom of bringing weapons aboard. Its been discussed ad nauseum. So why delve into it again just because we all have strong feelings on the subject?

Putting aside the questionability of bringing firearms in the first place... The fact remains that the guy went to Mexico with guns on his boat. And the question remains, why didn't he just pitch them? Was he ignorant or did he consider himself above their law?

There are just lots of people who think they can make it work, or they'll hide them, or whatever. And I'm sure that works for some, or many, or half, or whatever.

In the six years we've had the boat, with the last ~6 months in Mexico, we've never had a single armed official on the boat or any official onboard. So you can get lulled into a false sense of security and complacency. If I could have kept a pistol tucked under my matress, or triple ziplocked in the holding tank (I've seen it) and gotten away with it for six months, why would I have a problem with the next six months?

Most boats don't get inspected and if they do it's a haphazard look around.

I'm out of this thread; I can't imagine what that family is going through.

[Kettlewell]

I'm sure they had a lot of things on their minds and a lot of things they were doing while pounding on the reef, and I doubt throwing their gun stash overboard was one of them.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Whilst I do have plenty of sympathy for their current predicament - gotta say that some folks do seem to make own "bad luck".........

[H Romberg]

Originally Posted by SVNeko

Agree, but that was an excessive amount of weaponry.

For a country without rule of law it's not even close to enough. Just 600 rounds for an AK and everything else combined? That's a joke.

I'm not saying it was a good idea to sail into Cartelian waters with that set of gear, but if you're gonna go someplace you shouldn't, and you're gonna go there armed, come on folks. Go big or go home. One full up battle rifle and sidearm per crew member, plus a couple of shotguns and enough ammo to be able to really lay waste to a threat.

That and dump it overboard before running ashore....

Either that or take your chances and hope like heck nobody decides you look ransomable.

Better yet, stay out of Cartel land.