Firearms on bord

[Tollos]

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I have a pistol, registered in my name, and I want to know what I shall do with It when we go on our cruising trip in the med.
Personaly I believe it is better not to have firearms on board for it will only complicate matters when you enter other country's.
Reading about pirates and thieves that climb abourd and steel your stuff makes me worry though.
I would like to hear from you experienced cruisers out there.

 

[Poignard]

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Reading about pirates and thieves that climb abourd and steel your stuff makes me worry though.


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Can't imagine anything more desirable for a thief to nick than a gun.

 

[mandlmaunder]

We thought this through when leaving for a circumnavigation. So many Customs checks, in so many different countries. None of them wish to see any kind of 'aggressive defense'. So....best defense? Hide everything, all the time and in the case of personal defense get Tasers. The up close and personal ones with electrodes on the end, that you can secrete in a pocket, not the ones that fire out things on the end of wires.
If these work in the case of piracy, you will hear from us...if they don'tt, you may not!!

 

[LadyJessie]

I do not think it is a good idea to carry firearms aboard. If you really think it is a deterrent, then you must also be willing and able to use it. Can you see yourself in a foreign court defending yourself from having shot a local citizen dead for "approaching your yacht"? If you are not prepared to deal with that scenario, then do not carry any weapons aboard.

Usually trying to use normal human goodwill communication is always better than force in an encounter with someone from a different culture. There has been very many stories of encounters with "pirates" that ended with an exchange of cigarettes and pictures instead of bullets.

 

[ccscott49]

No firearms, nothing but trouble, difficult in most meddy countries and handguns are illegal in some, forget it.
Pirates in the med? The only ones I know run bars and restaurants! and a few in the chandlers and marinas.

Seriously I have heard of no cases of outright piracy in the med, apart froma few years ago off albania.

Lots offshore Nigeria, if you're sailing that way, I'd stay well offshore, closer to Brazil!

 

[JasB]

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Usually trying to use normal human goodwill communication is always better than force in an encounter with someone from a different culture.

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On which planet does that apply? Not being rude, but most people that are willing to rob you will probably not bat an eyelid to cut your throat, and video themselves doing it. I would be more inclined to take the firearm with me.

I am sure I read somewhere on this forum about someone in South American, or South Pacific waters being given the advice "If another boat approaches you, shoot first and dump the bodies overboard".

 

[Liz_I]

Etienne, we meet again! In the Med '81/'82 there were problems. The Douane/police were issuing handouts to visiting yachts warning of apparently 'in distress' dinghies & whilst the 'crews' were occupied the 'cigarette' arrived. However, there are no apparent problems these days. Firearms can be more trouble than the're worth, as others have stated. In countries where you would need them, they would have to be declared. QED. Get a mini flare pack! Perfectly legal & lethal if you are good at aiming. But be completely sure who you are aiminig at! Alarmist media is all around us, avoid the known trouble spots but in the Med... well.. don't think there is a huge problem. No firearms - no guarantee. Please don't become Americanised.
By the way Etienne is now 13 wks and 1.76kg we are hoping he will become our defence!!!
Good luck & don't be put off by negative thoughts.

 

[LadyJessie]

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On which planet does that apply?

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So does that mean that you will always wave your gun at any percieved "threat". Do you really think that will resolve the situation? And make you more safe? Please get real. It will probably either get you killed or spending 10 years in a Somali prison. Your choice.

 

[JasB]

The 10 years sounds preferable...being killed is a bit too permanent for my liking.

 

[JasB]

I see your point, but my point is; Pirates, coming to rob you, and then kill you to prevent you being a witness. What are the options? Kill the pirates, or be killed. (all very academic, as I barely sail up the Orwell river)

 

[Genie]

Hmm
Only carry a firearm if you are prepared to use it, and if the circumstances dictate.
I don't suppose the med might qualify for that as boat invasion isn't that prevalent.
If journeying further offshore a pistol might be of some help in minor cases but for piracy forget it as most of them are jacked up with AK's which renders a pistol pretty much redundant.
As a close range personal 'last line' I would consider a pistol to be OK, but not much beyond that.
Much better to 'talk the talk' than resort to that unless you really have to.
Always 'Walk softly and carry a big stick'.
I would consider some training it Tai Kwon Do or other martial art to be good investment as well as good range practice if you really want to carry a firearm to be very good advice.
It's been a while since I've carried a firearm, but knowing how to render someone inert through a few holds/techniques remains with me forever.
Personally, for me the mini-flare option is a good idea, as how the heck do you respond to a found firearm by customs?
Rob

 

[ccscott49]

What a load of complete twaddle, you have obviously never been in a situation where guns are being waved around by loonies, who on seeing a handgun would empty an AK47 magazine into you, the crew and anybody else around, please think before saying things like this. The man was asking a very serious question.

 

[purplerobbie]

Unless you have proper training with a gun and are prepared to use it waving a gun in the hope that it will scare people off is likely to get you shot.
The people who are going to rob you are probably far more familiar with guns than you.
At what point do you come out shooting?
Me personaly if i thought i was going to get boarded i would either try to run or go and stand at the bows and be very submisive until they had took what they wanted and left.
Rob

 

[Fin]

Would you be willing to use firearms if you thought that your life was in danger?

Could you correctly handle a firearm in a possible confrontation while being shot at yourself?

If the main threat is of the AK47 type will you have a firearm that could counter it? With little training a small grouping is possible with a 9mm pistol at about 15yds, now put yourself on a moving boat firing at a moving tgt and ask yourself the same question.

If you can't positively answer yes to the above questions then I wouldn't even consider firearms.

I was on Gypsy Moth when we went across the top of Somalia in Feb. We didn't have firearms we just went for a prevention rather than cure approach.

Avoid the threat areas as much as possible. We went a long way off the coast and only got close in the final approach to Djibouti.

There were 6 boats in the group and I simply think that the threatening speedboats (2) bottled it when they realised that there was going to be a lot of witnesses?. Safety in numbers.

Personal choice whether you let them board or start popping off para flares into their boat as they approach. A certain bet is that as soon as you go aggressive your potential boarding party will go aggressive. Our strategy was to keep things passive as long as possible, even if that meant them boarding, liberating some bounty and buggering off. Much better that than a shootout.

If it wasn't going to be passive then red para rockets and smoke were the only defence that we could think of. Not much but I'm yet to see someone juggling with phosphorous.

As for getting help, if I was at all suspicious of an approaching/threatening vessel I would be pressing all loud panic buttons on every radio I had. If its going to happen, its going to happen fast. How far is the horizon, how fast are their speedboats? If its a false alarm, great, I'll cancel the alert.

There are no black and white answers of to how to deal with the threat. If anyone wants to disagree with what I've said then that's fine. This is only fresh in my mind having gone through the process earlier this year.

Fin

 

[ccscott49]

I for one and there are many, totally agree with your take on this. Show them a gun and then get your head blown off. If you have lots of money onboard or jewels or gold or whatever, hide it! Leave enough money in an old wallet to satisfy them and give them whatever they want, just so as the bugger off and dont start getting too naughty!

 

[JasB]

Hate to disappoint you, but I have been, and yes, diplomacy does work, but if I hadn't been armed with a couple of "shaven gorillas" behind me (also armed) I don't know if it would have worked. (Bit of over-egging there...It was an officer did all the talking, not me ) /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[testmonkey]

firearms..

 

[testmonkey]

cruising with guns

 

[wizard]

Remember Peter Blake the round the world skipper he got shot dead in South America when he waved a gun at the thieves on his boat. The crew had already surrendered and were not touched.

So, it could be said that carrying a gun could actually make things worse in some circumstances.

 

[KellysEye]

Before leaving the UK we talked long and hard about being armed. The bottom line, as others have menioned, is you would be outfought (not just more guns but more machettes, more knives). Better to lose a few possessions than your life.

For close up defence some boats out here carry pepper spray. I also understand that flares might look impressive but aren't effective in any way (they don't weigh anything and bounce off people).