Sad day in St Lucia

[ifmdalvey]

A link to a British report below, a yachting couple were attacked and the husband suffered fatal injuries trying to protect his wife.
What would you have done?

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/two-held-over-briton-39-boat-death-004056514.html

 

[Salty]

My condolences to the family and I wish Mrs. Pratt a speedy recovery. What a shame. I hope the the perpetrator(s) are caught and given their due punishment. St Lucia is such a beautiful island, its pity this may tarnish the island reputation

 

[Anonymous 121765]

It's always the innocents that fall as victims.
Dreams shattered, a life wasted; friends & loved ones
also die a little. My heartfelt prayers go out to them.

Never, never be a victim of violence. Refuse to be a victim always.

How to do this you ask?
1. Always be aware of your surroundings & the people near you.
Especially in unfamiliar surroundings.

2. When in unfamiliar territory make sure you have the right defense.
You Will need to have a gun, a rifle, or both.

3. When possible, never put yourself in an isolated area alone.

4. If isolated, keep a lookout schedule. Always have communication devices
ready that can transmit distance if having to call for help.

5. If possible Never travel alone. Stay away from isolated routes/areas
that are known for pirating or on-water crime. There is safety in numbers.


Over 30 years of sailing Gulf/Keys areas of Florida, I've had to pull a gun 3 times.
Luckily, I never had to fire it, but I would if needed. The gun alone was the deterrent.

If you ever find yourself about to be boarded, here's what I would do.
Always keep your flares within close reach. Have your gun ready, but keep both out of site. When they get close, first fire the flare at the cockpit or anywhere the flare will stay on their boat. While they panic about what to do as the flare in melting thru their deck, pull the gun & shoot if you have to. It can be as a warning shot or, if they have weapons, shoot first.

Never be the victim guys.

CR

 

[ifmdalvey]

capn ron
thanks for the suggestions, but one major question arrises, taking a hand gun into a foreign country probably does not go do well with the authorities , do you declare or not?

 

[Anonymous 121765]

Ian,

You have to declare any weapon on your boat I believe. The procedures for doing this differ. for countries. However, when calling on a foreign port, do your background info. first. If you have any questions, you can call their embassy/consulate.

Why do you ask, "Feel like getting away".............ha ha

CR

 

[Salty]

Captn Ron, you made some good points but taking a gun into St. Lucia or many foreign countries may not be a good idea. St. Lucia is a very popular spot. The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) usually more than 200 boats sail from Europe (Canary) to St. Lucia every year. I can see one getting into a lot of trouble with a gun in the Caribbean, mistakenly shooting an innocent vendor approaching your boat just trying to make a living. As for me, my best defense is conversation. I am not a salesman but I think I can talk my way out of most saturation. It also help to have what I call decoys (stuff you are willing to part with to prevent a robbery). All that said I am still surprise this happened in St. Lucia of all places. Again my prayers to the family.

 

[Anonymous 121765]

Salty,

Having to have a gun on your boat at all says a lot about the world in which we live.
Way back when taking my captain's course there was a an in-depth discussion about guns in the signals & sounds section. One test question was about the a gun onboard & what category did it fall into. The answer was, "also as a signaling device."

I did mention, I was not aware of countries & their policies so check up on this first.
When all is said-n-done, there are far too many victims. Aside from a trip to Cuba some years back, I don't plan a Caribbean cruise anytime soon. Thankfully, it's legal here to carry a firearm onboard. Note, I've had to brandish it 3 times in approx. 25 years. It was a convincing deterrent with no injuries. All 3 times I was isolated and/or 25 miles offshore when these happened.

The first time I pulled a gun was 3:00 am in Venice. I don't sleep well on a boat (my girlfriend does). I heard a slight bump & looking out my portal could see two guys in a john boat. One was crawling under my lifeline into the cockpit. If, I didn't have a gun with me, how do you think this would've turned out? I'm not a member of the NRA, but I would much rather explain to the cops why I killed him, then him explaining why he killed me.

CR

 

[Chris Patterson]

Trying to say you would rather be tried by twelve, than carried by six?

And I've got a personal saying as well. You don't want but one tale in court, and that is your tale. You do NOT want the other bloke standing there explaining his side, take that out of the equation..

 

[Gunni]

Actually, it says more about the US than the world. You are far more likely to be menaced by a gun toting fool in the US than in the Caribbean. These isolated incidents in the islands are typically property crimes, well noticed, and policed. The immense hassle of carrying a firearm and using lethal force to protect property is not a burden I would want. You might want to tour a few island lockups before you make your decision... or stay stateside in the land of guns.

 

[justsomeguy]

Seems to be some confusion in the media as to how "armed" these robbers actually were.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...urder-Roger-Pratt-was-beaten-and-drowned.html

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/st-lucia-roger-pratt-shot-3037136

Guess which publication plays to the sensational?

Not to belittle this senseless violence, or Mr. and Mrs. Pratt's price paid, but this was done for merchandise, as far as I know.
While it sucks to have your outboard and whatnot stolen off your boat, without Samuel Colt's help, one should usually just give the three what they want.

I don't know why the robbers felt the need to murder Mr. Pratt, or even if they meant to kill him. Sad, yes.

A (very) little bit of further research about guns in St. Lucia- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...sh-sailor-killed-protecting-wife.html#coments

 

[bugaloo]

Say what you want and express your own personal feelings about fire arms, I will be willing to bet that fewer of us gun toting americans have been robbed and murdered while cruising than the unarmed citizens of other countries, Most of us at one time or another was sent to other countries with a gun!

 

[Anonymous 121765]

Just,

We are not gun nutz.

This is not a perfect world. Knowing this, if NOT personally unaffected, yea I agree.
However, if you don't protect yourself, what are the consequences?

And, if the worst happens to you, I'll bet dollars to donuts you will see this different light.

We gun carrying types are NOT the bad guys, we simply refuse to be VICTIMS.
What is wrong with this way of thinking???

CR

 

[justsomeguy]

Just,

We are not gun nutz.

This is not a perfect world. Knowing this, if NOT personally unaffected, yea I agree.
However, if you don't protect yourself, what are the consequences?

And, if the worst happens to you, I'll bet dollars to donuts you will see this different light.

We gun carrying types are NOT the bad guys, we simply refuse to be VICTIMS.
What is wrong with this way of thinking???

CR

I'm kind of a gun nut, but a cheap one.

Protect yourself, or your possessions?

 

[wufibugs]

I continue to think long and hard about owning a gun at home or at sea. Reports I have seen suggests that more gun owners are hurt with the guns they bought for self-protection than are saved by them. This statistic may be questioned depending on how one comes out on the debate over whether guns should be used to protect property or reserved to protect people. There is also a question about whether a gun bought for the latter tends to push one toward using it for the former. There are certainly major differences between our fight-or-flight options at home and at sea. Statistically speaking, a gun is likely to afford psychological comfort, probably more so at sea. The problem is where could one hide it on a 31' boat such that it could not be found by a the local authorities [such as in Mexico where they are illegal] or a random burgler while I am ashore stuffing my face with local cuisine, but readily accessible when needed.

 

[alexco38]

You are 10 times more likely having to
deal with authority than robber.

Not sure about Caribbean countries or Mexico
but bring one up here to Canada will land
you in a slammer. Lawyers are happy to see you.

Unfortunately that's the world we live in.

 

[Anonymous 121765]

Wuf,

Are you serious man? You can ponder & debate till the end of time of reasons people need/don't need to carry protection. I have to assume by your post, you have NEVER experienced dire situations. If you did, surely you would take my side.

A simple case in point, what if you find yourself in a precarious situation?
What happens if you have no way to protect yourself?
What happens if you are with your loved ones with no way to protect them?
What then is your way out?

Will you discuss the altruistic reasons why man should or should not have guns with these thugs... or, will you want to protect you & yours. Do you really think the people who are putting your life in jeopardy care to discuss the rights & wrongs before taking your life???

In a case such as this, you have but two decisions..do you want to live or do want to acquiesce and maybe pay with your life? Obviously you have never been in a life or death situation such as what I have described earlier in a post. And, I hope you never will. However, you cannot discuss logic with those that wish to take from you what they may; regardless of harm so that they can succeed. In cases such as this, there aren't many second chances. Is this a gamble you would want to take?

Again, please wake up to the world we live in, it's not what I/we had envisioned...but it's where we live in the now. It's not a grey area, it's merely self preservation. If your dead, you lose......there's no starting over.

I don't say this to beat you up pal, however we are not always in control of what happens around us. Thus, our only control is self defense. Stay alive & be safe.

CR

 

[justsomeguy]

You can buy a handgun in Mexico. Heck, around the world.

But then, you're dealing with the sort of people you should probably avoid.

How about the "Liberator", a 3D printed weapon? Then your biggest worry would be where to hide the bullets.

 

[ELMAX]

dear friends, there is a factor, it's called luck, and depends on the situation, to have a weapon? I've been in the military when I learned that complicated and knowing how to make good use of a weapon. the offender has nothing to lose, and probably under drugs, and usually has a weapon more powerful than yours, I say to reflect this, but having said that, I think, that if you threaten me try to defend myself, if you touch my wife .. . me or them ......
I pray for the speedy recovery of her husband, and I hope that this terrible adventure makes them more powerful. but you will be unable to delete more ....

 

[justsomeguy]

dear friends, there is a factor, it's called luck, and depends on the situation, to have a weapon? I've been in the military when I learned that complicated and knowing how to make good use of a weapon. the offender has nothing to lose, and probably under drugs, and usually has a weapon more powerful than yours, I say to reflect this, but having said that, I think, that if you threaten me try to defend myself, if you touch my wife .. . me or them ......
I pray for the speedy recovery of her husband, and I hope that this terrible adventure makes them more powerful. but you will be unable to delete more ....

Umm, Mr. Pratt's dead.

 

[ELMAX]

I hoped it was not serious I'm sorry for the family, and I hope that those responsible pay both on earth and in heaven.