An Attempt to board a Yacht off Portugal

I can imagine the haste when you realise that your being pursued to be boarded, grabbing the can of fuel, grabbing the flare, wondering which one to put down while you either open the fuel can or fire the flare, then with an open can of fuel and a detonated flare, slipping or tripping and burning your boat to the ground just as you here the words "Hola señor, quiero comprar pescado?" :LOL:
Well as a starter for those confused , i would suggest openimg and chucking the fuel before firing the flare into the rib ,, or maybe you should just ask the wife ( or anyone else available ) while you steer a zig zag course . there may be other methods .
 
Maybe time to update ,,,, if you are going to carry an illegal weapon it might as well be a lethal one
Or not. I no longer have an air rifle, since you now need to have a license for one in Scotland. Also, I am no longer fourteen years old so I don't really see the point in having one.
 
Same surprise I had (as foreigner). Would you like to come onboard for a cup of tea, we ll have a leisurely time to assess which one of us will survive. :)
Very kind invitation. Would love to but as I understand it, Americans have become pariahs in the rest of the world due to the lax treatment of the pandemic over here. I do have reservations to spend a week in Paris next July, so perhaps a rain check til then.
 
Nah I think I'll pass. I presume where you are there is a much higher legally allowed power limit?

In America, in most places as far as I know, no restrictions at all on air guns. I'm sure a two year old could buy the most powerful air gun in the country if he/she could get the money and reach the counter to hand it over. :(
 
I had a friends husband killed when anchored off St Lucia but still think being armed with pathetic air rifles and flares and all the rest versus armed criminals is a daft and deeply unsafe idea.
Anyone who disagrees with your statement needs to have their head examined.

However, the use of air rifles and flares has only been mentioned in the context of one situation where the attackers were not armed and were defeated by sea conditions and a boat hook.

Clearly, the air rifle would not be of any use off the horn of Africa or the Caribbean where the pirates are armed and are not using inflatables.

Richard
 
Anyone who disagrees with your statement needs to have their head examined.

However, the use of air rifles and flares has only been mentioned in the context of one situation where the attackers were not armed and were defeated by sea conditions and a boat hook.

Clearly, the air rifle would not be of any use off the horn of Africa or the Caribbean where the pirates are armed and are not using inflatables.

Richard
exactly , this thread seems to have grown arms and legs !!
 
The problem is that I think the minimum weoponry that would reliably put off pirates would be a shotgun. If they had any weopons themselves beyond knifes that would be useless as they would just sit beyond 75 m and riddle the boat.

Then you come to the issue that a shotgun isn't legal to keep on a boat.

So avoidance and luck seems best strategy.
 
Lots of dreamers and wannabe Rambos around :)
What fun, when under attack by rotters, to have the vertical hull windows of one's Oyster open up, cannons mounted and a broadside delivered. That will show the blighters. None of this pea-shooter rubbish.
Stern garage should be similarly adapted - bit like Bond's DB5 - so that the (kevlar) garage door rises up - not down- to protect the cockpit from the rear and cannons emerge from the garage and proceed to give generously to those in the yacht's wake.
Where did I put my drink?
Now thinking about the bowsprit ....
 
If a UK shotgun license holder, it's possible to apply for a European certificate but I still wouldn't carry one on a boat, have got rid of mine from home now.
Under the old system I had an EU extension to my SGC although you had to declare the guns at each border. Since Brexit I’m not sure this applies. Still got the guns but no longer in the UK/EU so not up to date on current regs.
 
I'm not convinced an air rifle could actually put a hole in the tube of a decent sized RIB. if anybody is in a position to find out, please report back.
In my teens, the inflatable I was using was shot at by an air gun - we found the dart. Only a .177, but the dart failed to penetrate a Metzeler Inca. I think it was just hanging by the point. We only realized that it had happened when we found the dart.

I suspect the tubes of a RIB are tougher than a Metzeler Inca, so if it didn't do significant damage to the Metzeler, it wouldn't touch a RIB.

Possibly a larger calibre airgun such as farmers use for pest control might penetrate, but it would still only make a small hole and a slow leak. However, I think that .22 and upwards enter a different licensing regime, depending on the energy imparted to the projectile.
 
I am under the impression that a boat can carry a shotgun in uk waters without a licence as part of a ships equipment the rub is you would need to show why , if going offshore a UK register boat can carry a shotgun
The problem arises in that without a licence you cannot take it to the boar so you would need someone with a license to carry it to the boat
Also in territorial waters of other countries you need to apply their law to your fire arm
I am still thinking on this when I go in 2 years,
 
In my teens, the inflatable I was using was shot at by an air gun - we found the dart. Only a .177, but the dart failed to penetrate a Metzeler Inca. I think it was just hanging by the point. We only realized that it had happened when we found the dart.

I suspect the tubes of a RIB are tougher than a Metzeler Inca, so if it didn't do significant damage to the Metzeler, it wouldn't touch a RIB.

Possibly a larger calibre airgun such as farmers use for pest control might penetrate, but it would still only make a small hole and a slow leak. However, I think that .22 and upwards enter a different licensing regime, depending on the energy imparted to the projectile.
New generation air guns such as mine pack a powerful punch, it would make short work of any rib tube! It is a .22 and doesnt need licensing. It is below 12fps.
 
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