With all of the news about piracy in the Indian Ocean and the repeated tales of theft and violence in the southern Caribbean, self-defense has never been a hotter topic. We’ll offer our thoughts on the subject and hope you will respond with your own!
We’ve sailed one and half times around the world, visited and lived in scores of foreign lands, met all types of people, and–luckily–have not been confronted violently or robbed…except once in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. We have never carried guns aboard because we are not proficient with them, don’t own them at home, don’t want the official hassles and have often sailed with children. For self-defense, we equip our boats with mace, flare pistols, machetes, air horns, bright lights and good locks. Our primary mode of self-defense has always been to avoid areas known to be troublesome or to travel cautiously in the company of other cruisers. This system has worked for us.
For those who are proficient with firearms and feel comfortable confronting a stranger with a deadly weapon, there are a few things to think about when contemplating carrying guns on your boats. In most foreign countries, you will have to declare your weapons. In some countries, officials will confiscate them and return them when you check out, which can be a problem if the entry and departure ports are far apart. In others, the weapons will be sealed in an onboard locker with their use prohibited. In countries that regulate weapon ownership, it is a crime to use a gun even in self-defense, particularly if you are a foreigner. Those who carry guns have to be ready to deal with the hassles of officialdom and need to know the local laws and regulations.
In strange lands, it is often difficult at first to tell friend from foe. This is particularly true in poor countries where you don’t know the language, the customs, the laws and the traditions. Indonesia comes to mind. It can be easy to mistake a boatload of fishermen for a boatload of pirates and react inappropriately by flashing a weapon. Conversely, in a confrontation with an armed gang of pirates, you will be facing desperate people who are often accustomed to violence and ready to blaze away with powerful weapons. In the first case, you become an aggressor who could make a terrible mistake. In the second, you are probably overmatched, outgunned and at a tactical disadvantage.
There is no simple answer. There have been instances when armed cruisers saved themselves from pirates by engaging in a firefight instead of fleeing or surrendering. And there have been instances—remember Peter Blake—when challenging a boatload of thieves with a weapon resulted in a sailor’s untimely death. We’ve gotten by for 40 years of sailing and cruising without guns. How about you?
thank you
cruising now 7 years solo woman.. i keep it to flares lights and air horns. Spot for where abouts as well as epirb.. keep it simple do not anouce over the net hey we are going home leaving our boat for a few months etc. etc.. on the local net…
lock your dinghy as you would your car… keep tempting items out of site.. keep chat down gee lets all go to the beach or what ever this after noon.. yea.. leave you boats.. broadcast it over the vhf..
and well sometimes its not a local its another ..bad cruiser.. looking to make a few cruising pesos or what ever… … seen to many locals blamed for the other..
think before you act..
have a code with fellow cruisers… for a nite out..
what works..
now in Central
America going forward.. wonderful people wonderful cruising..
Inspiration at Sea
hi Vicky…I’m intrigued..how do u sail solo for 7 years, both financially and logistically..I live in Ft Lauderdale and I’m plotting LOL
Vicky..you can reply if you so choose to mickymike@live.com I don’t often check this thread
Peter Blake made the dreadful error of letting the pirates get aboard. That was no time to try and get a weapon, especially a revolver, with which to confront them. Preventing them from boarding is the only way to go. (Most of your own choices let the buggers get too close.) Getting proficient with weapons is not that difficult. Having places to hide them on any decent sized craft is also not difficult. Preventing accidents, especially with children, is not that difficult and is generally part of any good training. There are flare guns which can also take shotgun shells.
However, good locks and generally staying out of known “hot spots”, as you have done, is excellent advice. It really comes down to how determined one is to avoid trouble. However, having good weapons (and the training to go with them) is first rate insurance.
I own guns, but do not carry them to the boat. My feelings are pretty simple: If you plan to carry, be prepared to draw; if you draw, be prepared to fire; if you fire, be prepared to kill.
If you’ve never killed someone at close range, don’t think it’s an easy thing to do.
Carrying a weapon is dangerous and a hassle on all fronts. For on-board confrontations, however, there is absolutely no better weapon that a can of wasp spray. Don’t bother with pepper spray or mace, wasp spray shoots a flat, hard stream for 20-30 feet with great accuracy, and will painfully blind anyone temporarily. And it doesn’t attract any official attention when passing through immigration inspections, either.
I have been sailing for 36 years and have never had to use my life jacket, fire extinguisher or rigging cutter, but I have them on my boat. They are tools for my safety. I have never lost anyone overboard and yet I practice MOB drills. Learning how to operate a complex and dangerous 12 ton sailing machine with High tech navigational equipment is far far more daunting than learning how to safely own and maintain a firearm. I have never had to use my weapons, but I would, as most fathers would, attempt to defend my family. I believe I’ll keep my Mossberg.
Ah, A voice of wisdom and reason. Refreshing!
You state that one of your weapons of defense is a machete, and yet for firearms you stress feeling “comfortable confronting a stranger with a deadly weapon”. In close quarters a machete is just as deadly as any firearm. I prefer not to let them get that close.
We are both trained in both firearms and the moral and legal (at least in our home country) implications of using deadly force. It’s certainly a last resort, but as has been stated, just another emergency tool we hope to never need.
I’ve never heard of a cruiser engaging in a (prolonged) “firefight”. At most, I recall stories of those who sent off a shot or two.
I think Whitec makes a very good point of having and using all effective tools for an important job; as long as you are prepared for, and abide by, the various regulations you will encounter ’round the world.
If you are taking guns, it’s not a bad idea to have 50,000 in a bank somewhere to pay a brib to get you out of jail.
We spent 2 years offshore with 3 kids on board and thought long and hard about firearms aboard. Finally what I came to think was that the 2 things that you need to “win” a firefight are the element of surprise and superior firepower. I will never have either on a boat. I think it is a mistake to display a weapon because that will only worsen an already tense situation. I would want to shoot from cover, like through a porthole from down below. Can anyone be sure if the other is friend or foe from a distance? Superior firepower? Even if I have a rifle with 15 rounds, a semi-auto pistol, and a semi-auto shotgun, I am still out-gunned by 1 AK-47. I lose.
In the end I just couldn’t envision a situation when firearms would improve my chances. I am a gun owner and am not adverse to using lethal force to protect my family. I just didn’t think it could bring me advantage or be worth all the trouble.
One man’s thoughts.
Another voice of wisdom and reason. Also refreshing!
That’s my perspective. Well put, sir.