By: Lee Clymer
Article Category: Boat Wiser Leave a Comment
We’ve held a romantic view of pirates for centuries, and modern times have brought us everything from Captain Morgan Rum to “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
No longer do we think of pirates with tricorn hats, parrots, and brightly colored clothes. What comes to mind now are poor, desperate looking Somalis with high-powered boats and and automatic weapons.
But the other reality is that there are in fact pirates in the Caribbean. This is where most of us do our boating, so we should be aware of attacks happening in our reasonably local waters. The modern day pirate has upped his game and his equipment, yet in appearance can resemble any casual or seasoned boater. Many organized teams go for larger cargo ships, but there have been increasing reports of private craft being taken. They employ a number of different ways to board.
The most common and easiest way is to simply board the boat while at anchor and rob it of whatever isn’t secured. A trick that’s become more commonly used is the bogus distress call. A captain will report to assist a vessel and suddenly find armed bandits onboard. I’m not in any way advocating ignoring distress calls, but do take precautions. Typically, if the boat is within VHF radio distance of land the Coast Guard will already be aware of their problems and will have probably already issued a PAHN (pronounced “pon” – it is a French term for urgency). Contact them to check. If you are at sea, approach any vessel in distress with as much caution as possible and be prepared to get people below quickly and depart as fast as possible if needed. Watch closely with binoculars as you approach and check for any unusual activity.
The world is in a state of economic crisis, so piracy is bound to increase, particularly in the Caribbean.
Here are some safety tips:
⁃ Keep combo lock boxes on board at the entry ways and don’t carry keys.
⁃ Keep doors locked.
⁃ Keep someone on watch.
⁃ Lock down all tenders (i.e. jet skis, etc.) with the biggest lock and chain you can logically use when at anchor. Make it obvious how hard it will be to take any of them.
⁃ Travel in a convoy of boats when possible.
⁃ It is important to hide your boat from pirates. If they don’t see you they can’t board you. As a result, while on the open sea, unless vitally necessary, shut down all electronic devices that emit a signal. It’s wise to do this, anyway, to save battery power, but that’s how they locate you. Also, do not, unless necessary, accept any type of transmission such as weather reports, etc. The receiving device transmits an acknowledgement that allows them to locate you.
⁃ Remove all unnecessary metal from the boat and place it somewhere it will have reduced reflectivity.
⁃ Never use white light. Use red lights at night or use the moon. White light can be seen for miles.
⁃ Simply stay as quiet as you can. Don’t operate winches or other equipment unless absolutely necessary.
For more helpful tips, visit www.noonsite.com/General/Piracy.
By Lee Clymer
lee@yachtmasters.biz
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