Larry Starr wrote:

I and probably others would also contribute to pirate-victims relief, if
we knew how to do so.

For sure! But the tale got me wondering why are so few are into self
defense? If there was time to hop out, lock the hatch then hop back in
there'd have been time for two armed determined persons to kill all of
the pirates. I'm not talking waving a gun and asking them to leave, I'm
talking a quick deadly ambush as in bang, bang, bang - woops one still
moving - bang again - followed by "break out the champaign Honey, we got
'm all in under 10 seconds"! What'd likely happen had the couple done
that and simply sailed away? Not exactly a clean wake but ....

Seems that, worst case, Colombian officials might pursue them when/if
the bodies washed up. What's U.S. Government/ Navy policy on protecting
US ships pursued by foreign gunboats on the high seas?

What are the legal issues pertaining to having a couple shotguns aboard
a US registered cruising yacht - provided, of course, you never took
them ashore?

Howard