Being in the wrong place at the wrong time...

I've been hearing a lot of grumbling of the "something ought to be done" sort, in the wake of the sad loss of life in Somalia on the S/V Quest, yet another kidnapping in the area, and now, a horrific torture-murder of a charter yacht crewman in St Martin...

Offhand, I'd agree with the something must be done crowd to a point, but I'm pretty sure that most won't agree with my solution.

What we do on boats... this cruising gig... is something of a non-essential pastime and something that should not ever put others at risk or in harm's way. It's not like we are delivering humanitarian aid or some noble cause, we are simply tourists and vagabonds, and as such, we simply don't have a moral right to protection if that protection involves putting others at risk.

A lot of folks are saying that the UN or various governments should convoy cruisers through areas where there is a risk of piracy with military escorts which would put soldiers and sailors at risk... Which I can see if those cruisers were transporting vaccines or some other important thing, but to make our tourism non-problematic I'm not so sure that those military folks or their families would look on it as a mission worth dying for.

Which is not to say that piracy and crime in areas we cruise should not be dealt with in some way or other (a much more complicated issue than it would appear)... Just that our cruising and tourism is not important enough to rate any "special" treatment.

So what to do?

Well, for a start, get a clue about world politics and listen to the warning signs that are telling you it may not be prudent to be someplace or transit an area to get someplace. If assault rifles, RPG's and kevlar are deriguer gear for going down to the local store to buy a six-pack, you may want to rethink your need to be there.

For instance, this whole piracy gig off Somalia has been going on for a couple of decades/centuries, so it is hardly surprising that from time to time cruisers and in-the-wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time tourists are going to find themselves in harm's way. When they do, it is tragic, and if possible even more so, as it could so easily been avoided...

But, some folks will say that going through Suez is the shortest route to/from the Med available so we need to be able to do this route in safety... I'll refrain from my standard need/want rant and just say "so what?" and point out if you are a mariner that going round the Horn gives you some serious street cred and the earned ability to wear an earring.

So to return to the question of whether something should be done or not, the answer is yes. We, as cruisers, should avoid places where the words unacceptable risk become part of the dynamic of cruising an area or be willing to deal with the consequences if we decide to take a risk...