Crime on the High Seas

Safety while we are at sea has been in the back of my mind since Martina and I started our quest. I have always been a gun owner; I have federal and state licenses to collect and carry firearms and intended to be armed when we shove off, but, after reading a recent article about a British couple, released after being held captive in Somalia for 13 months, I was more sure about being armed than ever before, or so I thought.

The attack came in the middle of the night with the woman on watch. 10 men with assault rifles boarded their yacht and took them captive. Now I have seen a lot of Rambo movies and I am a pretty good shot, but even I don't have enough bravado to wake up and take on 10 men with assault rifles while rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. No one in their right mind would, although it would make a great Rambo movie. So the question is, would having a weapon have made a difference? Probably not, but there could be a time when it would.

When you read sailing blogs, and I read them often, you learn about all sorts of incidents all over the world, and it might be surprising to some, but U.S. inner cities are a whole lot more dangerous than the open sea.

Piracy on the open water is trending down with the presence of warships, and outside of a handful of incidents elsewhere in the world, most of the hijacking takes place in the Gulf of Aden. You are far less likely to be robbed abroad than in your own American towns and cities, and that's a shame.

There is a lot of sailing blog discussions about the pros and cons of carrying firearms while cruising abroad. Most countries outside of the U.S. don't allow weapons at all, so for me or anyone else having them aboard, you run the risk of fines or worse if they are found. There are alternatives to firearms too, like axes, flare guns, and harpoons, which are all common on boats, and can protect us from limited threats.

I still have many years to decide if carrying a gun at sea is worth the risk. For now, I will sharpen my axe and harpoon, enjoy sailing, and hope crime in my own back yard doesn't find me.