BoatBanter.com - View Single Post - Pirates of the Caribbean

On Thu, 01 Jan 2004 15:42:21 GMT, (Larry W4CSC) wrote:

I'd be very interested in more details about this attack, name of
boat, date of attack. etc. I have lived in Thailand for 30 years,
much of the time aboard a 40ft sloop, and have neither heard of this
event, nor have I talked to any yachty who has heard about it or
actually been exposed to a "pirate attack" in Thailand.

This is not to say that no pirate attacks have happened here, just
that in thirty years I am aware of one authenticated attack - twenty
years, or more ago,against a yacht, and the so called "pirates"
actually fishermen, made no attempt to molest any of the four persons
aboard the yacht and were arrested by the Songkla police within days
and some of the boat gear was recovered.

Certainly there have been pirate attacks but against comercial
vessels, lately mostly "trawlers" hauling illegial diesel fuel into
Thailand (fuel prices are 40 - 50% cheaper in Malaysia), however these
are actually a rarity.

Another thing that sounds a bit strange about the German story is that
in all of the cases of theft from boats the thiefs have taken easially
salable items; VHF, GPS, Compass, etc., never a complete yacht. Only a
few complete yachts have been stolen and in both of the cases I am
aware of they were stolen by foreigners, not "Thai Pirates". Due to
Thai customs laws it would be practically impossible for a pirate to
sell a foreign yacht in Thailand. In fact a cat, stolen in the Med was
recently recovered in Phuket by the local authorities and returned to
the owners.

This is not intended to make a case for "never been a pirate attack
here" but rather that there is a lot of rumers about things that never
happened.

On 01 Jan 2004 06:50:42 GMT, (JAXAshby) wrote:

you need a gun, a shotgun, a revolver, a machine gun, a grenade launcher, a
machette, a Swiss Army knife, a Boy Scout knife, a paring knife, a box cutter,
a fingernail clipper and a frickin' brain.

Trollin' aside, I have a German friend who says you only need Russian
hand grenades, easily obtained in many places according to him. Off
of Thailand he was attacked single handing his boat by a high speed
boat. They shot over his head but didn't shoot directly at the prize
they were after, his yacht. When they came within throwing range he
simply dropped one of these grenades into the boat before the boarders
could reach his rail and they were so busy scrambling in the bilge for
the "egg" they veered off before it exploded.

The effect was devastating, a total destruction. That was the only
place he's been attacked but his boat is full of the arms you make fun
of. He says anyone not heavily armed cruising anywhere is totally
crazy....

I can think of no easier targets than most of the yachtsmen I
know.....As a group, the moneyed elite are awfully naive. As to using
the radio, what's the point? Noone's going to help you except to
maybe come look for your body, floating face down long after it's
over. Hell, I'm amazed the local marinas aren't regularly ransacked,
here.

Cheers,

anon
(reply to k4556[at]inet[dot]co[dot]th)