Poopie,
Your route from California to Thailand shouldn't take you past Somalia
unless you get REALLY lost.
MMC

wrote in message
nk.net...

I just heard in the news that the pirates off the coast of Somalia
are threatening to kill their hostages if their comrades who were
captured last week by the U.S. Navy (USS Winston S. Churchill)
are not released.

I hope this situation will not become more and more like in Iraq
where the terrorists capture and kill innocent people when their
demands are not met, especially since it's probably a lot easier
for pirates to attack sailboats than larger ships.

"MMC" wrote:
Poopie,
Your route from California to Thailand shouldn't take you past
Somalia unless you get REALLY lost.

I want to come back the other way and will have to sail through
Gulf of Aden (north of Somalia) to get to Suez Canal.

On Sun, 29 Jan 2006 21:14:58 GMT, wrote:


"MMC" wrote:
Poopie,
Your route from California to Thailand shouldn't take you past
Somalia unless you get REALLY lost.

I want to come back the other way and will have to sail through
Gulf of Aden (north of Somalia) to get to Suez Canal.

That is one the worst areas for piracy. See:

http://www.yachtpiracy.org/en/world_map_of_piracy.htm

You could go round Cape of Good Hope. But if you wish to vsisit the
Med, probably not an option.

Jack

_________________________________________
Jack Dale
ISPA Yachtmaster Offshore Instructor
CYA Advanced Cruising Instructor
http://www.swiftsuresailing.com
_________________________________________

..50's mounted on the bridge wings and an M79 launcher or 2 and you should be
ok!
wrote in message
ink.net...

"MMC" wrote:
Poopie,
Your route from California to Thailand shouldn't take you past
Somalia unless you get REALLY lost.

I want to come back the other way and will have to sail through
Gulf of Aden (north of Somalia) to get to Suez Canal.

and the europeans made fun of the guy who asked about a gun on his cruising
boat a few months back ...something about gun crazy americans !! fine call
me crazy too
wrote in message
ink.net...

"MMC" wrote:
Poopie,
Your route from California to Thailand shouldn't take you past
Somalia unless you get REALLY lost.

I want to come back the other way and will have to sail through
Gulf of Aden (north of Somalia) to get to Suez Canal.

and the europeans made fun of the guy who asked about a gun on
his cruising boat a few months back ...something about gun crazy
americans !! fine call me crazy too

i'm wondering about guns on board too. the subject comes up a lot in
different books and articles and things i've been reading about
cruising, and in the cruising forums, and there are plenty of piracy
reports out there to read too. i don't have a clear opinion on it yet,
i'm still thinking about it.

"purple_stars" wrote in news:1138781464.278709.56780
@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

i'm wondering about guns on board too. the subject comes up a lot in
different books and articles and things i've been reading about
cruising, and in the cruising forums, and there are plenty of piracy
reports out there to read too. i don't have a clear opinion on it yet,
i'm still thinking about it.



I know a German who cruises a big boat, alone most of the time. (Rich,
electric winches, lots of automation)

He was attacked in Asia by several men in a big powerboat.

As his boat was custom designed with a hidden arsenal that's quite
ingenious and easily accessed, he opened his stash and grabbed his
scattergun and a Russian hand grenade waiting for them at the ladder to his
cockpit.

As the fast boat came along side, and to the astonishment of the pirates,
he pulled the pin on the grenade and simply dropped it into their boat
before they could raise their weapons. Of course, panic ensued and the
powerboat veered off with everyone aboard frantically trying to get to the
grenade before it went off. They didn't have enough time and the grenade
blew the pirates apart, sinking the boat and killing them all.

Rule #12 - Don't attack Germans in nice yachts. They don't play dead.

I am singlehanding in the Med since a couple of years.
If you have weapons onboard, I think you must declare them to the
authorities upon entry to each country, at least in Europe. They will most
likely be confiscated for the time you spend in the country, and returned to
you when you are leaving the country. Failure to do so is upon discovery
likely to get you into BIG trouble.

As an example, in the summer of 2004 I was boarded at sea by the French
customs in the English Channel. Three armed officers boarded my boat and
spent 1 hour searching my boat, all while sailing 5-6 knots. Discovery of a
weapon would likely have caused me lots of trouble.

Also, with a weapon you have to be prepared to use it without slightest
hesitation, and you might find that you just killed a couple of fishermen
trying to earn a dollar or 2.
Martin

--
i'm wondering about guns on board too. the subject comes up a lot in
different books and articles and things i've been reading about
cruising, and in the cruising forums, and there are plenty of piracy
reports out there to read too. i don't have a clear opinion on it yet,
i'm still thinking about it.

In article ,
"Martin Hinders" wrote:

They will most
likely be confiscated for the time you spend in the country, and returned to
you when you are leaving the country.

Only if you don't have a Bondable Customs Locker.....Do you really think
that all the Commercial Shipping, spend their timer InPort transporting
the contents of their Arms Locker, to, and from, the Customs
Office.......

"Martin Hinders" wrote in news:VL3Ef.6505$Sk1.195938
@news20.bellglobal.com:

Failure to do so is upon discovery
likely to get you into BIG trouble.


I agree. But you'd have to see how carefully hidden they are, nearly in
plain sight.

The other thing is we are talking about a very expensive, custom-made
yacht. This comes with its own "aura". The rich don't get inspected like
us poor folks in the sloppy-looking sloop from 1977. It seems a lot of
things are "overlooked" when one pulls in looking like you're gonna leave
$10000 a day on the local economy and not pinch every penny. Get my drift?

The other thing, in many places on the planet, is just an outright bribe
and no inspection need take place at all....(c;