A man with a machine gun came up to me - or was it a dream

Uricanejack said:
The USN definitely has no sense of humor with this regard. Having had several crew killed when a small vessel came up to the USS Cole.
Rumor has it 100 m and 50 cal. This may vary a bit for cigarette boat or centaur. They visit my home waters. The word is get to close they will fire.
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IIRC QHM Portsmouth's LNTM regarding a visiting USN aircraft carrier said something like "A vessel entering the exclusion zone will be viewed as a hostile act".
 
Sometimes I would dream that I had over fifty days left of an over ninety day patrol. Then I would wake up and I had over fifty days left of a ninety day patrol.
 
Triassic said:
D, I would have no issue with them coming over and investigating my presence, including speaking to me, that is them simply doing their job. I do have an issue with being given unjustified instructions especially by someone holding a firearm as if that somehow bestows them with more authority than someone who is unarmed. I'm not suggesting you treat them with anything other than respect, but my reasons for doing so are not necessarily the same as others.
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Smart backpedal.
 
Jane and I were sailing off the Turkish coast and a submarine surfaced abut 100 yards way on our starboard side, to say we were were surprised would be an understatement. We had no idea what nationality it was, but assume they knew we were there.
 
KellysEye said:
Jane and I were sailing off the Turkish coast and a submarine surfaced abut 100 yards way on our starboard side, to say we were were surprised would be an understatement. We had no idea what nationality it was, but assume they knew we were there.
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The sub that hit Drum (70ft) with its scope never knew she was there
 
Aja said:
Rule #1 with these guys is don't even think about playing with them. I've seen a yacht bulldozed sideways out the way. I bet the marine or policeman or whoever was dead polite as he did it too.

Donald
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Yes, a few years ago a bloke racing in Plymouth stood on and got a bit sassy. That was the end of his racing for the day and it took him some while to get his boat back.
 
capnsensible said:
Smart backpedal.
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Not necessarily, my position hasn't changed. I have very little respect for some of these individuals if they behave in a certain way, but I'd be very careful about exhibiting those feelings not because I'm fearful about what they are potentially permitted to do, but because I don't trust them to act accordingly.

There are some waters in the world where a RIB full of armed men approaching your vessel would quite rightly be perceived as an immediate threat to your safety and you would be entirely justified in taking appropriate measures to avert that threat. The Clyde isn't amongst them. You and I know that through a combination of local knowledge, common sense and observation skills. The police are no different. They have a job to do which is to safeguard a submarine and this is done in several ways. Firstly there is a 250m exclusion zone around the vessel which gives them a buffer zone generating sufficient time to assess a perceived threat and decide on an appropriate course of action. If another vessel appears to be approaching that zone the first thing they should do is apply their local knowledge, common sense and observation skills. Is it a high speed craft loaded with grim looking men carrying weapons or is it a slow sailing craft (sorry Dylan) manned by an elderly gentleman (sorry again...) that appears to be out for an afternoon sail, which is not an uncommon activity in that area. Given that such vessels don't normally sail straight into submarines (they tend to come off second best) they should approach the vessel and enquire of the skipper what their intentions are, and perhaps politely remind him about the exclusion zone. Now they could do this in an entirely officious manner (and some unfortunately do) in which case they are likely to get either a timid "Yes Sir, three bags full Sir" response from some, or a provocative response from others such as me. Alternatively they can approach the situation with a degree of common sense and humour whilst acknowledging they have a job to do, which is what appears to have happened in this case as illustrated by their reaction to Dylan's comment about the radio.

I will admit to a certain mischief when I initially responded to this thread. I wanted to provoke a certain reaction and I got it.
Reports of yachts being rammed out of the way, "I was taught to respect blokes with guns" and jokes about calling men with guns "Sir". Are people really saying they think these individuals can exercise force without due reason, or do they think an officer with a weapon is entitled to more respect than an unarmed patrol on the street? The sad reality is that they ought to because one of the unfortunate consequences of giving an officer a gun is that they lose the skills they relied upon beforehand, you know the ones that gave them local knowledge, common sense and observation........
 
As the navy shrinks so the number of support craft swarming around a submarine seems to increase. The norm for a submarine heading to sea down the Clyde now is one SD support craft, an Archer class patrol boat, a Royal Marine patrol boat, 3 Mod-Plod patrol boats and 2 ribs. The numbers have increased since the FBC was knocked down so perhaps they are all there as an aid to navigation.
The mod-plod patrol boats now have a recorded loudhailer message which goes something like "Unidentified vessel, this is an armed police vessel. You are approaching our escort. Slow down and change course." I tend to assume as my vessel has sail numbers and is broadcasting an AIS message they must mean someone else.
Dillon - why don't you head up Loch Long and tease the patrol off Coulport? They have nothing else to do most of the time.
 
skipper_stu said:
A "policeman" in Angola thought I was being sassy with him, his 9mm Russian pistol stuck in my neck got my attention! I wasn't but I wasn't going to argue with him! My Angolan mate was hissing at me "say sorry" I did!
Stu
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That seems to me as an appropriate application on your part of local knowledge, common sense and observation... :) No doubt you were left with a deep and meaningful feeling of respect for the policeman?
 
Ah how small and parochial the UK can feel!

We have been boarded by men with guns in St Martens, Venezuela, Cuba and any number of other Central American/Caribbean countries.
We've been shepherded away by fast moving ribs from ocean convoys with no lights or identification in the depths of night off the Spanish coast. We have read the warnings on Navtex of the 500metre exclusion zone to military vessels in Gibraltar.
We have found spent bullets in the bottom of our dinghy in Guatemala.
I have even commandeered a boat full of Guatemalan soldiers carrying AK47's to chase down a threatening jet skier......!

When we set out cruising a Dutch friend advised us to learn the phrase 'Teak decks, boots off' in the languague of all countries we visited. It has stood us in good stead!
 
Triassic said:
That seems to me as an appropriate application on your part of local knowledge, common sense and observation... :) No doubt you were left with a deep and meaningful feeling of respect for the policeman?
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The man with the gun does not really care if you respect him or not, he just wants you to shut your gob and do as you are told.
The more intelligent people do exactly that.
Unless of course you want checking for hidden objects by a large man wearing big rubber gloves, provided he does not have a reason (to him) to shoot you).
 
Will this feature on a KTL episode? I'm surprised they let you take photographs of those things.
 
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Mister E said:
The man with the gun does not really care if you respect him or not, he just wants you to shut your gob and do as you are told.
The more intelligent people do exactly that.
Unless of course you want checking for hidden objects by a large man wearing big rubber gloves, provided he does not have a reason (to him) to shoot you).
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You are absolutely right, but that was in Angola. Are you suggesting that we should let the British police adopt a similar attitude without at least offering some kind of resistance, or at the very least registering some disapproval?
 
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