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Subject: RE: [worldcruising] Re: Routes to UK - Piracy
From: Rick the Mouseherder (nh2f@XXX.XXX)
Date: Wed Jan 10 2001 - 18:50:31 EST
Oh good. They've opened a new Fear Monger Shop, right here in our
neighborhood. Folks, don't be swept up in the hysteria of armchair tyros
like this. What a crock.
It is obvious why big ships are hijacked: that's where the goods are. A few
dozen containers of cigarettes would make a small enterprise wealthy in
Asia. It is also obvious why real acts of piracy against yachts (hostile
boarding, not just garden variety thefts) are not reported on those web
pages: it just doesn't happen that often. Small yachts just aren't worth
the effort or trouble. We spent 5 years in the pacific cruising and another
5 years working on Guam. In all that time, the only confirmed deaths or
boarding from "pirates" we knew of happened on the SE corner of Papua New
Guinea (an area embroiled in a low-level civil war for decades--same area
where the killed a Rockefeller many decades ago).
One of the great things about being an American is that as soon as you leave
the shores of this country, you've decreased your chance of violent death at
the hands of criminals many fold.
No doubt there are trouble spots, and cruisers avoid them. Hell, in
Zamboanga, Philippines, where the Muslims make blood sport of taking
tourists hostage, even the priests carry guns. I think I'd avoid Jakarta,
right now, too. Same for certain stretches of Central American coast.
Forget pirates. If you're going cruising you need to be a lot more
concerned about submerged containers floating just below the surface,
uncharted horseshoe coral reefs, and meteorological "bombs" than armed
boarding. Modern day pirates run travel-lifts or own chandleries.
----------------------------------------------------------
Rick the Mouseherder - nh2f
Westsail 32 Xapic, Hull #438
Annapolis, MD
A small boat and a suitcase full of money
beats a 40 footer tied to the Bank.
Creative graphic solutions in vinyl for your boat lettering & designs
http://www.mouseherder.com
Visit our Westsail 32 Xapic
http://www.mouseherder.com/xapic
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