Dennis,
Be very careful accepting advise from those that do not experience
international sailing. Their advise is not worth the bit space it arrived
on. Piracy today is actually a bigger problem than it has been at any time
in history. There have been numerous articles written in the press about
this problem for more than 20 years. In fact, there are very few safe
cruising areas worldwide. The causes of the problem are numerous, but drug
running is probably the most common with abject poverty being a close
second. There are some undisputable facts like, if you encounter a problem,
there will be no assistance. You cannot just dial 911. There is nobody home.
You are on your own. You should carry multple levels of defence, like common
sense, water cannons, mace and lastly firearms. All of those have zero value
without adequate training and ongoing practise. That said, guns are like
trucks and umbrellas, when you need one, you never need a little one. If you
have something and do not need it, you can throw it away. If however, one is
required and you don't have one, use your imagination. Please remember your
enemy for firearms is not the person, it is his engine. Never allow
strangers on board. Practise do diligence. Always maintain a deck watch. On
a practical note, when carrying firearms and you are entering a foreign
country always follow maritime rules. Do not initially find dock space. Drop
your hook, go ashore in your dingy and inprocess. Fly the correct flags.
Always declare your weapons and follow the advise of the authorities. Crimes
are punishable. Following the law is not a crime. You might lose your guns,
but not your freedom.
Steve

"twoguns" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have never been out of the U.S. coastal waters on a boat yet. Several
of my friends and I are planning an extensive world cruise in two
years. All of us have had extensive training in the use of firearms of
all types and we all enjoy shooting sports as a hobby. We all like
trapshooting so we will have at least 6 shotguns plus a few thousand
rounds. Add in personal weapons and there will be an extensive arsenal
on board. I know some countries absolutely prohibit personal firearms
so we will have to take precautions in certain waters. Mexico is one of
the most prohibitive I understand. Since we don't want to have an
international incident what procedures are best in a situation like
this? I have suggested we build a couple of watertight capsules for the
weapons and ammunition. With GPS and the appropriate eqipment we could
drop them overboard when entering restricted areas and then retrieve
them later. Are there any better but legal options that could be
followed?
TIA,
Dennis

To Steve Lasardi and others with good advice,
Thanks. You can bet before we leave we will have a list of all the laws
and regulations of any places we plan to visit plus a skipper familar
with the ports we will visit. The dinghy idea is great. One of the
group has a large Zodiac that we are planning on taking, it should be
great for that purpose. Although all of us in the group have been in
professions that required extensive training in firearms use we are
recreational shooters more than anything else. Defensive use is just
secondary. I have been looking for an excuse to buy a couple of the new
Ruger Stainless steel handguns and rifles. Sal****er environment will
be just the excuse to justify that expenditure.
Dennis

If you come to Australia, the Customs people will ask if you have
firearms aboard. Say yes and it's no drama, they'll take them off of
you and when you clear out of the country, they'll return them. I
believe they'll even transport them from your port of arrival to your
port of departure if given sufficient notice. I'd suggest having the
guns in lockable cases, then lock them in and have the Customs dudes
put a seal on when they take them away. Unless you have an Australian
firearms licence, you won't get to keep them in your possession. You do
*not* need firearms for defence against pirates in Australian waters.

Assuming you have a bonded locker aboard, I dunno. For a pleasure
vessel, I suspect they'd still take the guns. Maybe not the ammo if it
was locked up with a Customs seal. Ask.

I've owned guns all my life and legally I can carry guns on my boat, in
Australian waters, as I have a licence. I think that sailing with them
may well be more hassle than it's worth, if you're going foreign, and
probably wouldn't bother.

You decide. The Rugers are nice toys but if you bring them here and
don't declare them, you'll probably lose them, the boat, go to jail and
get deported. Much bigger risk than piracy, IMO.

PDW

In article .com,
twoguns wrote:

To Steve Lasardi and others with good advice,
Thanks. You can bet before we leave we will have a list of all the laws
and regulations of any places we plan to visit plus a skipper familar
with the ports we will visit. The dinghy idea is great. One of the
group has a large Zodiac that we are planning on taking, it should be
great for that purpose. Although all of us in the group have been in
professions that required extensive training in firearms use we are
recreational shooters more than anything else. Defensive use is just
secondary. I have been looking for an excuse to buy a couple of the new
Ruger Stainless steel handguns and rifles. Sal****er environment will
be just the excuse to justify that expenditure.
Dennis

In article ,
"Steve Lusardi" wrote:

Dennis,
Be very careful accepting advise from those that do not experience
international sailing. Their advise is not worth the bit space it arrived
on. Piracy today is actually a bigger problem than it has been at any time
in history. There have been numerous articles written in the press about
this problem for more than 20 years. In fact, there are very few safe
cruising areas worldwide. The causes of the problem are numerous, but drug
running is probably the most common with abject poverty being a close
second. There are some undisputable facts like, if you encounter a problem,
there will be no assistance. You cannot just dial 911. There is nobody home.
You are on your own. You should carry multple levels of defence, like common
sense, water cannons, mace and lastly firearms. All of those have zero value
without adequate training and ongoing practise. That said, guns are like
trucks and umbrellas, when you need one, you never need a little one. If you
have something and do not need it, you can throw it away. If however, one is
required and you don't have one, use your imagination. Please remember your
enemy for firearms is not the person, it is his engine. Never allow
strangers on board. Practise do diligence. Always maintain a deck watch. On
a practical note, when carrying firearms and you are entering a foreign
country always follow maritime rules. Do not initially find dock space. Drop
your hook, go ashore in your dingy and inprocess. Fly the correct flags.
Always declare your weapons and follow the advise of the authorities. Crimes
are punishable. Following the law is not a crime. You might lose your guns,
but not your freedom.
Steve


Very good advice......I suspect that the above poster actually knows
what a Customs Locker is, and what it is used for....... Every Commercial
Vessel I have ever been on had one, and upon entering any Port of Call,
it was used, and secured, as per International Convention. If only more
folks were more knowledgeable about such things, we wouldn't be subjected
to "Hip Deep Bull****" when this subject arises.....


Me one who has sailed, and lived to tell the tales......

I wonder if the different attitude to carrying guns is mainly
cultural.

US citizens with their history of the war of independence and the
reliance on minutemen and a citizen army with often their own weapons
have a different attitude than say, New Zealanders whose police do not
carry guns. They can carry a baton and had a special trouser pocket
for doing so but most did not wish to be encumbered by its weight.
N.Z. has a law that compels any citizen to come to the aid of a
policeman if he calls for help or if he is being attacked. The penalty
for not doing so is a possible prison term.

We used ex WW2 .303 calibre rifles as kids for shooting pigs, deer and
goats in our bush/forests which are classed as pests and it was
relatively easy to get a licence for a rifle once you turned 16 but
definitely not for handguns or automatics.

Just a thought - not