E-35 Captain gunned down in Honduras

[treilley]

We live at a gated marina, although bypassing the gate is pretty simple and the code has not changed in many years. I sleep better at night not because of the gate but because of our dog. He is a lover but sounds ferocious when someboy gets on the boat and usually barks at aproaching vessels. Especially powerboats!

 

[Rocinante33]

The Solution

I'm thinking I should get a dog & arm him with a shotgun!

 

[Randy Rutledge]

Forgive this statement but I feel it's needed

Below is the link to part 2 of the interview. Totally senseless death as many are.
http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/honduras-pirate-attack-part-2-23450459

One thing that we all should take from this story.
Anyone sailing with us should be given a safety walk through before leaving the dock. Myda clearly was a guest on her father's boat and not a crew member. In their trip she should have been given instruction on operating the boat under power and radio operation at the least. My guess is that when she tried to power the boat to the ship she was picked up by the engine overheated and failed because the fresh water intake was closed.
Spending the second night or even the first night in an area that was warned against would be a judgment call depending on the storm strength and conditions.
From Myda’s account of how it happened having a gun onboard would probably not helped as the shooting was without warning though they were nervous of the situation I don’t think they would have shown a gun or had time to use one. I do know that a flair gun is a weapon, one of my friends shot a car thief that was high on meth with a flair gun. The thief had already cranked the car but had difficulty driving away while using both hands to try and dig the flair out of the skin of his chest. Probably never lethal but fully disabling.
I don’t wish to point blame on the lost Captain just to point to precautions we should take. My first mate (girlfriend) gives a safety talk to all guest and first time crew before we leave the dock and instruction as to what they will be asked to do and how to do it as we motor out from the marina. It doesn’t take piracy to create a situation where a guest has to take command, many of us are at an age that a heart attack could leave a guest in command.

 

[bayhoss]

Keith! what happens if the dog sees a cat?
Best,
Frank

 

[Emerald]

Keith! what happens if the dog sees a cat?
Best,
Frank

I think the dog wins

 

[Randy Rutledge]

Dog for protection

This might work

 

[exoduse35]

THE CAT WINS? I have always been told that the best way to cure a dog from chasing cats is to let him catch one! Edd

 

[rwthomas1]

I watched the interview of the daughter, and it was just heartbreaking. Her account makes it seem that the presence of a gun on their boat wouldn't have saved her father, since the shooting surprised them both. But...she DID brandish a weapon, albeit a flare gun, and the criminals DID flee. And as gentle and unassuming as this woman appeared, when tragedy struck and her own life was threatened, she tried to arm herself with the object most resembling a...GUN. It wouldn't strain one's imagination to conclude that she wished it WAS a shotgun.

There is no guarantee that carrying a weapon onboard will save you in the case of assault. But NOT carrying one guarantees you will be defenseless if the unthinkable happens. Preparing our boats well doesn't guarantee we won't sink in a storm, either...but it does improve our odds of survival. And given the fact that good preparation is the cost of admission to the activity of sailing, carrying a weapon seems the kind of reasonable precaution a prudent mariner might reasonably be allowed to take.

I appreciate the reasoned posts I've read here, since this topic has commonly produced a more hysterical tenor in other places I've seen it...a hysteria directed at weapons themselves. And it always makes me think how this debate would have sounded to the merchantmen of the previous centuries, who armed their vessels heavily against the possibility of attacks. Had they meekly stripped their vessels of weapons, it would have improved the safety of no one but the pirates themselves.

Dan Morehouse
1981 E-38 "Next Exit"

Bravo! Bravo! RT

 

[jkm]

Whenever I go south of the border I stow a .303. I've had one confiscated in ole Mexico.

I got home and went right out and got another Enfield

Shotgun is good going thru a front door, but nothing makes the point like a long gun slung over your shoulder as you wave at a couple of guys 100 yards off, who are looking at you thru binocs.

FWIW

 

[exoduse35]

Another thing about a long gun with a scope is that it allows you to mount a defense sooner while there is plenty of time for reconsideration by the other side. There is a reason for the saying "One across the bow". A scattergun is better "Up close and personal" so you may want one for the other hand! But remember that a shotgun makes a mighty big hole and one in the side or floor is gonna be a really really big problem while you have company! So be careful where you point it!!!!!!!!!!!!Edd

 

[Randy Rutledge]

I am pro gun control. A steady hand and careful aim.

 

[bayhoss]

If you're going to go with a rifle and scope then get a .270. Flat as a pancake, hits like a tank, and after hearing that crack the other team will know you are seriously ready for combat.

Best,
Frank

 

[Sven]

We never head out for a relaxing sail unless we have enough fuel for the flamethrowers and the RPGs close at hand.



-Sven

 

[rwthomas1]

Problem with a rifle is stability on a moving platform like a boat. It takes a career of practice to make a shot like the SEAL's did on those Somali pirates. That and a long gun in confined spaces, like a boat, can make deployment an issue. A shotgun is far, far more appropriate. A medium length barrel will allow sabot slug use with excellent accuracy out to 100yards or so. Beyond that you won't hit anything with a rifle either. Shotgun can be progressively loaded, slug, buckshot, birdshot, etc. all in the same magazine. Shotgun is very simple, pump guns rarely break, need little attention, etc. In many places a shotgun is not considered as "evil" as a handgun, rifle, etc. More of a sporting arm and so on. But I can guarantee that no one with the intention to do you harm wants to look down the barrel of one. My choice is a Benelli Nova.

I should clarify that I do not think everyone should be armed. I simply believe that the prudent mariner should have the OPTION to arm themselves should they see fit. To some this may see strange but these same people prepare for rough weather, they prepare for the inevitable equipment failures, prepare for the boat sinking out from under them. Situations that seriously threaten our lives sailing are statistically very small. Preparing for them makes sense.

Preparing does NOT necessarily mean being armed. Do you know what you would do if boarded? Have you hidden your cash, valuables, etc. in several different locations? Have you dressed down when in a foreign port or did you walk around with expensive jewelery, toys, etc. flashing cash? People looking to take what you have are not stupid. They look for easy targets, they look for wealthy targets, they will avoid a situation that puts them at risk and move on to an easier target. Thinking through these situations ahead of time and reading about what has happened to others will only help should something this unfortunate happen to you.

RT

 

[Sven]

Problem with a rifle is stability on a moving platform like a boat. It takes a career of practice to make a shot like the SEAL's did on those Somali pirates. That and a long gun in confined spaces, like a boat, can make deployment an issue. A shotgun is far, far more appropriate.

Anything less than a clusterbomb against Somali pirates shows that you are a sissy




-Sven

 

[rwthomas1]

Anything less than a clusterbomb against Somali pirates shows that you are a sissy




-Sven

I would agree with you entirely. The news coverage of that situation, the analysis by "experts", etc. lead to ridiculous conclusions parroted by the media 'round the world.

Somali pirates were supposedly "heavily armed" Really? AK47's and RPG's are small arms, not heavy weapons. Their boats are barely afloat, their "motherships" floating trash heaps. Any, I repeat ANY merchant ship armed with 50cal belt fed machine guns, or miniguns, would make short work of those idiots.

And then there is the call from the so called "experts" that armed merchant ships will "escalate" the problem and the pirates will simply get larger boats and weapons. Really? Really? The pirates are going to source, fund and operate real military patrol boats and even small ships? Hogwash. The above mentioned MG's would make short work of them too.

Hearing the "experts" and the shipping industrys resistance to defending the lives of their employees is sickening. They also claim that arming a ship makes entering foreign ports difficult. Really? I think history will easily show that merchantmen have been armed, and sometimes very heavily, for many more years than the current 100 or so years of unarmed shipping.

Its simply ridiculous to claim that defending yourself on the seas, when being boarded and facing bodily harm, is somehow inappropriate.

If the merchantmen were armed the Somali issue would disappear very quickly.

RT

 

[Randy Rutledge]

Remember where guns are outlawed only (the) outlaws have guns. What is wrong with that picture.

 

[Sven]

Remember where guns are outlawed only (the) outlaws have guns.

Exactly !

That's why I enjoy the warmth of my personal Little Boy and Fat Man. Everyone should have at least one of each.


-Sven

 

[exoduse35]

RT brings up a good point. It is my preferred reason not to keep my boat as shinny as I probably should. These guys are in it for the money and the effort to take a freighter with millions in goods that are insured is not that much more than taking down a multi million dollar yacht. Which is the same effort and risk as taking down a crappy little sailboat with a crazy guy with a gun. They will likely pass up he armed crazy guy on a crappy boat if what they are in looks to be better than what they are boarding!

 

[mherrcat]

I think I can fit this on my foredeck...