http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/10/02/sea.mystery/index.html

The crew of the 47-ft Joe Cool is missing. There are bullet casings and blood in the bridge. Two men were found in a life raft about 10 miles from the boat. They are being held without bond. Their alibis won't hold water. It isn't known how they got on board, but one good way might be via waving your shirt from a life raft, assuming they would take you on board.

So, how do you tell a couple of innocent people in a life raft from a pair of pirates?

And what do you do with them, whichever they turn out to be?

First, I'd search them. It isn't clear who the 9mm Glock belonged to, but it isn't the survival kit of choice I'd choose if I had to abandon ship. And if I were the crew, I wouldn't leave it lying around for strangers to appropriate.

Here are some choices:
1) Bring them aboard, search them, and tie them up.
2) Bring them aboard and then shoot them, throw them overboard.
3) Don't bring them aboard, leave them in the life raft, tie it to your stern rail and tow them to what currently passes for civilization.
4) Wave goodbye as you pass and yell that you hope they have a decent survival kit and lots of water.

Any other thoughts?

What to the boat people here say?

Sue

Call the Coast Guard to assist while standing close by the raft if you have questions??

When I had a boat in South Florida, we usually had firearms on board.

I suspect the 2 in custody killed the crew and tried to hijack the boat.

If I had a fishing boat like that and regularly went way off shore, especially off the southern coast of florida, It'd probably be smart to at least have a small firearm on board. Having said that, if I happened to see a liferaft, and the weather was relatively calm, etc. I'd probably call the coast guard and keep them in close visual range until help arrived. Maybe make a close drive by and toss 'em a couple of bottles of water or something. This is one sad story though.

I would figure the master of the vessel makes the rules.

Sue

A couple of things first: as a Coastie Maritime Law Enforcement Boarding Officer (MLEBO), I have dealt with this problem a few times.

1) Know where you're sailing, has piracy been an historical problem? Bahamas, Carribean Sea, Western Pacific, African waters, etc.

2) Realize that most pirates today sign on as crew at a foreign port after a night of the Captain/crew having too many drinks @ a local pub and meeting an expatriated American looking to get home or a local who claims to have knowledge of the area being sailed to.

3) After sailing, the vessel is approached by another vessel (pirate) & the "new crewman" pulls a weapon and gets the drop on the rest of the crew. The "pirate" vessel & crew comes alongside and does what they wish to the crew and the vessel (usually to use it for drug running).

4) Or the pirate vessel approaches close and opens up with small arms fire, disabling the crew (& sometimes the vessel).

On picking up survivors:

1) It is best to mintain some distance.

2) Stay witin hailing distance, and call the nearest gov't maritime agency (USCG, Bahamian Defense Force, Jamaican Coast Guard, etc.)

3) Throw the "survivors" water if they ask, but maintain a safe distance AT ALL TIMES. Manuever your vessel to be able to make a fast getaway!

4) Never tie their raft or boat to your vessel (that's 1 thing that they want you to do).

5) Most pirates appear to be very nice people.

Miscellanous Facts:

1) It is legal to carry firearms onboard. Most vessels carry a pistol and a pump shotgun. Some prefer a semi-auto rifle, as well. That is expected by boarding officers.

2) When in ANY port, keep your business to yourself, don't answer questions, ask questons as an answer. Never admit to being an American, claim Canadian citizenship, they don't tick the people of the world off like we do.

3) Flying a "Jolly Roger" is considered to be a declaration of piracy by most countries and is punishable by death!!! Flying "Flags of rebellion" (ie: Confederate Battle Flag, etc.), can also get you arrested and is punishable by death! This category includes the various "Nazi" flags and modern derivatives.

Sounds like something from a Tom Clancey novel...

Actually, Peter Benchley did it first in his novel The Island .

You might also wish to peruse the works of Ted Bell...

What's this I hear about a new zombie movie up in Alaska?!?!

Some small isolated town gets hit by a zombie infestation the first night of the longest winter night (30 hours of darkness) and the town is cut off from all outside communications.

I think it has to do with vampires, hence the importance of 30 “days” of darkness.

Pete

2) When in ANY port, keep your business to yourself, don't answer questions, ask questons as an answer. Never admit to being an American, claim Canadian citizenship, they don't tick the people of the world off like we do.

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Don't admit to being British either. They don't like us either.

If you do stand off and you have to bug out, make sure that you are BOW ON TO THEM. If you are stern on or broadside you make a very vunerable simple target. The steersman and your engines are the first things that they are going to shoot at.

So if you do have to boogie, do it right over the top of them.

A few tonnes of boat right in the teeth is going to hurt.

Personally, I'd do a drive-by, communicating their needs while my motors kept running (though, I want a sailboat, which poses a whole different problem). Since I probably wouldn't be sailing alone, it would be prudent to have the firearm visible, but not being brandished.

Call the Coasties. Or the Navy. Or whoever you can get on the radio (assuming I'm not on a naval ship at the time).

Wait a safe distance, just like everyone says. And, I have to agree with the "bow on" approach. Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead. The ocean should do a good job of washing off the left overs.

You mean they really do still fly the Jolly Roger??? WOW!

All good thoughts here. I have the feeling that my first thought wouldn't be pirates, though. But I guess a lot of shark bait thought the same thing.

The "Watch for Pirates" signs on board commercial fishing boats are probably being stolen all the time.

Sue

This thread reminded me of a national geographic special on those huge mega-tankers and how they routinely have to monitor for pirate activity. Their only defense is high pressure water hoses. You'd think with a multi-billion dollar floating investment like that they'd have some sort of security on board.

Ah, I forgot about that one...

What about "Captain Ron"???

You ever been hit with a high pressure water hose???

I'm manning the RCC midwatch at Kodiak Airstation with a quartermaster and LTJG in 1972 ( as a new E 2 I had the most important job, walking a hanger and aircraft check with a Detex clock and keeping the coffee mess in order.) About 2 A.M we get a call from a crabber being harrassed by pirate fishermen ( usually out of Taiwan, Japan or South Korea, the usual friends who ignored quotas and boundaries) making close passes alongside. The foolish new LT blew him off and said they were probably making helm errors in the dark and to check his running lights.When the JG went to the head, the Chief told the skipper (a well known local crabber)to do what needed doing- and then 'adjusted' the tape recording of their conversation to erase. The crabber had a swivel mounted commercial BAR in .338 with a homemade 10 round magazine on the flying bridge that always impressed me. He was also the town demolition expert who would blow clear the seasonal landslides on the few roads with carefully lain charges of dynamite. There was a search later for a Taiwanese fishing boat that vanished without a trace. Our crabber friend wasalso well known in his youth as a college quarterback capable of lobbing things with great precision.

Postscript with more serious input gleaned from my 6 year career. I come from a navy family, except for this cousin of my grandmother she forever estranged insulting his wife and service choice. His name was Yeager and he did pretty O.K. in the Air Force from bits and pieces the family picked up through the years.I was the second disappointment, first joining the Coast Guard and later attending UC Berkely and not UCLA like the rest of the family. 5 photos along the wall from Korea back to this tintype of some guy on a river ironclad, hand inside his jacket. My brother, fresh from the manly right of passage being initiated into his UCLA fraternity claimed my coastie portrait briefly found a home in the bathroom until my gaze was seen directed at hte toilet's occupants.I received a short letter from my grand uncle from his V.A. retirement home in Arizona. He somehow managed to be in France as a liasson officer and suffered mustard gas poisoning the one day he visited the front.The letter read " Dear Chris,The family said I should pass on some advise as the representative of our family naval tradition to you,though your cousin Franze has been accepted into NROTC at UCLA. This is my advise- "DON'T GO NEAR THE WATER. Oh, be carefull in France too"

You're right!

I can't wait for this film !!!!





Anyone seen the trailer?


Are you going to see it? granted zombies would be better but I don't think they could handle the cold...

It was - Clear and Present Danger

I had 1st hand experience with Thailand pirates a long time ago. There is only 1 solution in dealing with them: kill them. People are too naive about offering help on sea when it is not necessary. The pacific ocean off the coast of Thailand is full of pirates. The pirates are fishermen. They are well armed with rifles.

signs of pirate behavior

- unknown boaters approach your boat on sea offering help when you don't need.
- the pirates often set up a situation to lure people disaster at sea. When you approach them, they use force to tie you up.

- they behave in nervous manner when talking to you. You notice several of them hiding their hands from your eyes since they holding weapons. pirates often cruise shipping lane frequently travel by boaters.

Pirates are well armed with automatic rifles. when you travel in dangerous sea in south america, it is best to arm yourself with heavy automatic weapons. Don't hesitate to defend yourself when the situation calls for it.

Tripod deck mount M-2 in 50 BMG might just be a decent deterrant.

I'm curious, do folks here really think it is that much worse out on the open ocean than it is on the open road, or down the wrong alley, or up in the forest trail? There've always been plenty of people willing to separate me from my boodle; don't seem to matter much the terrain.

I guess perhaps the big difference is out on the open ocean, there really ain't no one to hear your screams. Not having at least the nuance that maybe there's a cop somewhere nearby makes folks a little more paranoid?

So fair warning then. If you see me on a boat out in the ocean somewhere, you can count on there being at least one barrel pointed in your direction, even if you don't see it, at least until I've cleared ya. Har!

why don't the people in the movie just use powerful UV flashlight to kill vampires? Vampires are killed by the UV rays of sunlight. It would be logical to use UV flashlights as portable sun light.

pirates don't care about International Maritime Law nor Navy law. They are in the business of hijacking ships to earn profit. The laws are irrelevant.

Any ships that intend to travel long distance across the vast ocean should be armed with heavy fire power.

For instance, Somalia pirates killed people and hijack UN ships with ease since people are naive enough to be unarmed on open sea. The shipping lanes filled with cargo vessels that carry multi-million dollars goods. Why wouldn't pirates be tempted with hijacking? They can earn more money in 1 hijackking an oil tanker than their entire life time.

picard, picard, picard....

If the directors and producers aren't capable of logic, what can the poor characters do?

What really irks me on TV and in movies is that it's FICTION -- the writer or director can make the characters do anything they want them to do.

And they make them act stupid.

I just can't understand it. I guess the public gets what it deserves.

Sue

Example ...

Tanning beds?

Bats are already pretty tan...