I’ve received a few emails after my last log asking about guns and cruising. I don’t really like talking about the subject but here goes.
First of all I don’t consider myself a “gun person”. I try not to manifest the “negative”, however I am a “realist” and as a captain have a responsibility to protect my ship as well as my crew. I am the sort of man who would use it if I had to. If you’re not that sort, never carry a weapon! Reason, personality, and common sense are far better weapons than firearms.
When I left on my trip in 2003 I had a 9mm handgun. I would say that most American cruisers leave the states with some sort of firearm. The rest of the world’s cruising community does not and cruises unarmed.
I claimed my weapon in the Bahamas and Jamaica but not after that. I went through a real hassle in Jamaica and would not allow the police to take my weapon. I asked them to leave, I was prepared to hoist my anchor and leave the country. I explained to them that I was the captain of my ship and my side arm was properly locked in the ship’s safe and that I had the only key. In the end they embezzled a bag of apples from me and put a sticker around Namaste’s safe warning me “not to crack the seal”. My response was ‘If I crack the seal, I’m sure you’ll hear about it’.
I never claimed my handgun in Colombia or Panama, nor did I ever have the need for it. I once took it out as I was approached by fisherman wanting to sell fish. For some reason I didn’t think “fish” were under the tarp in the front of their boat. That could have been paranoia, or not, I’ll never know. I ended up selling my gun in the San Blas to a very paranoid man (x-cop) and his family. They were on their way to Colombia and he growled “I will not go unarmed”! My response was ‘if you are so afraid of pirates, perhaps you should not bring your family”? He offered me 3 times what my gun was worth and I sold it to him. I never carried a gun again and proceeded to sail half way around the world. I was happy not to have it.
Now I’m burdened with the question of carrying a gun again. If I was to sail alone my immediate response would be “No, I don’t need it”. However, I have a family now and I’ve had to rethink the question all over again.
Cruisers know where the potentially bad areas are. We all talk over dinner and drinks, and chat every day on the SSB nets. Cruisers all over the world communicate over the SSB (Single Side Band) radio so we are very “in the Know”, when it comes to such topics. If you’re a single handed sailor on a small boat I would say “don’t carry one”, you really don’t have anything that “Pirates” want. They surely wont steal your sewing machine :) The Pirates we have all been hearing about are hostage situations on large ships, and they are looking for millions of dollars. Not a walkman or video camera.
Mace is a popular tool that cruisers carry. Muggings do happen all over the world and it seems to be a good deterrent. Personally, I don’t think giving up the few bucks that we would have in our pockets would warrant macing anyone. We live in a country where we let murderers, rapists, and child molesters go if they have enough money for a decent attorney, OJ being a good example. Child molesters, rapists and murders don’t make it very far in most other parts of the world, especially South and central America. It’s not the courts they have to worry about, but their peers. There have only been a few incidences of murder amongst the Kuna throughout their history. If a Kuna kills another Kuna their punishment is to be buried alive on top of their victim. Needless to say there is not much of that sort of thing going on.
Will I carry a gun? That’s a good question. I have put a motion detector in Splendid’s cockpit so I will not have any surprise visitors. That being said I lived in Colombia and Panama for years and never had a surprise visitor. I did have my outboard stolen once and that is about the closest I’ve come to “Pirates”.
Sam and I are currently exchanging emails with a mother of a 5 year old boy in the Rio who has been raising her son there for a few years now. She has lots of good advice and if we go there Guin already has a play mate.
Will I carry a gun? I really don’t know. At this point I can’t buy ammo for the gun a friend gave me. A shotgun, and a hand gun are good tools to have for hunting. I would have liked to have had a rifle in Polynesia to hunt pig, instead I was stuck shooting chickens with a sling shot. Polynesians are big hunters. I would like to do some more hunting.
The truth is, I don’t know guys. I’m leaning to carring one because of the family. I suppose it is better to have one and not need it, than to need it and not have one? My theory is, if your going to carry one, carry a big one, and whatever you do don’t get yourself in trouble with it. The funny thing about life rafts is people usually get them selves into trouble with them. They abandon their ship for the life raft when they are panicked and afraid. The ship in usually fine. I guess my point is, if your going to carry a gun, don’t carry it out of fear. Think of Annie Hill or the Pardies. These families have been cruising around the world for decades, like thousands of others. My point is, if you don’t have common sense, don’t go cruising. A good Sailrite sewing machine is much more important of a tool than a gun.
I hope this answers your questions.
Peace, Love, and Sailrite, what a great machine :)
– Alex
