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...

Very sad news...

U.S. Forces Respond to Gunfire Aboard S/V QUEST

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At approximately 1 a.m. EST today, while negotiations were ongoing to secure the release of four American hostages, U.S. forces responded to gunfire aboard the pirated vessel (S/V) Quest.

As they responded to the gunfire, reaching and boarding the Quest, the forces discovered all four hostages had been shot by their captors. Despite immediate steps to provide life-saving care, all four hostages ultimately died of their wounds.

“We express our deepest condolences for the innocent lives callously lost aboard the Quest,” said Gen James N. Mattis, U.S. Central Command Commander.

During the boarding of the Quest, the reaction force was engaged by pirates on board the vessel. Two pirates died during the confrontation and 13 were captured and detained along with two pirates already in US Forces custody. The US Forces also found the remains of two other pirates already dead aboard the Quest. In total, it is believed 19 pirates were involved in the hijacking of the S/V Quest.

US Forces have been closely monitoring the S/V Quest for approximately 3 days, once it became known to be pirated. Four U.S. Navy warships comprised the response force dedicated to recovering the S/V Quest: the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65), the guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55), the guided-missile destroyers USS Sterett (DDG 104) and USS Bulkeley (DDG 84). The ships are deployed to the region to conduct maritime security operations and to provide support to operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn.

Well worth reading...

Over at Follow the Boat there is some very good opinion on the American boat "Quest" that apparently has been seized by pirates...

Well worth a read.

Talking like a pirate is one thing but beware of those who walk the talk

I guess I should mention that it is indeed "Talk Like A Pirate Day" and while adding the odd "ARRRHHH" or "Avast" to  sentences can be somewhat entertaining, it does make me think of other things...



Sadly, the real language of piracy these days is that used by folks in Somalia and other third world areas. For a variety of reasons, real up-close-and-personal piracy is something of a growth industry. It would, of course, be prudent to add that words of a piratical nature are also common parlance in those of a political bent (whichever party they may belong to it is always best to keep in mind that most fly the skull and bones) as well as those working in the corporate world and best not to forget that behind every great fortune lies a great crime. Lastly, it would be unwise to forget those who travail in the marine trades who just may be the scurviest examples of a rather scurvy lot...

Listening to "Prelude to Mutiny" by Captain Bogg & Salty

So it goes... 

Electric fences and cunning plans

Since we were speaking of things pyratical and as it is more than problematic to do the razor concertina wire thing to most sailboats... What's a poor boy to do?

Here in the Caribbean most thefts from boats seem to be of the swim/row out and pilfer variety, though sadly, there seems to be a trend towards a more boat-invasion model.

The only thing we have had stolen off of "So It Goes" since we have had it was a mask and snorkel of mine which I am pretty sure I must have left on the side deck instead of putting it away in the dive locker (my bad). I would not be surprised if the reason for the theft was the fact that I left our boarding ladder down rather than stowed on the lifeline... again my fault.

Of course, we make an effort to keep "So It Goes" less than pristine as the last thing we want to look like in an anchorage is well off or rich and simply prefer the boat to blend in with all the others without any signs that there is anything worth stealing aboard. For the most part, we always anchor as far out as possible and away from the herd as in my experience, having known no shortage of villains, I do know that in most cases your average thief prefers less work rather than more and won't make the effort to swim/row out to us if there are closer (and more lucrative) targets about.

Since "So It Goes" is an older (1969) sailboat we also do not have the sugar scoop stern so popular these days, which just screams stealthy easy-on/easy-off access to villains. To board us they have to come over the side which is more likely to let us know someone has come aboard and is much more visible from a distance.

The only other real precaution we take is that we do not have a name on our dinghy as nothing says "Come Out and Steal Stuff" as your boats name on the dinghy sitting all day at a dinghy dock!

Which is not to say we have not had the odd cunning plans to make "So It Goes" even safer but so far nothing that has quite worked. Though the exclusion zone by radio controlled model boat seemed to have promise, and to be honest, the one with the anvil from the masthead WAS something of a disaster!

The current plan of teaching Ninja repel-boarders-martial-art-techniques to Buffy and Willow has not yet seemed to get past the wax off wax on stage but we are working on it.

On the other hand, while not quite so cunning, the idea of making your lifelines do double duty by turning them into an electric fence actually does seem like a reasonable approach and solar powered systems are both cheap and workable... In my case of course, I'd be much more likely to forget to turn it off and do myself some damage coming back to the boat but it is a thought that just might work.