Armed voyagers

[Steve Laume]

You are a bad boy, Sea Hunt. Pretty funny too. I think you should get a good spanking for what you have done. It isn't really your fault though. It's that John V. that is the trouble maker. He always seems to start something like this and then some one else gets in trouble.

I am heading to the boat today, heavily armed. I will have all manner of cordless drills and saws with which to reek havoc aboard Raven.

Chain stopper mounting, ceiling and shelves in the former hanging locker are on the list.

No gun mounts, today, Steve.

[M. R. Bober]

>>I know that mounting the .50 cal near the bow will have some unintended consequences ...<<

I know you were writing about tacking the genoa, but the most serious consequence of bow mounting is that astern is 100% vulverable. That might not be a major issue considering how easy it would be for any CD, expecially a 25D, to simply outrun pirates in an inflatable, but the better position would be twin mounts, port and starboard, on the rail at the forward end of the cockpit. That would give you 360 coverage and you could steer and shoot at the same time.

What did Dick say about the end of winter?

Former SP/5 Bober, a 45J (Aircraft Armament Technician) believes that you won't believe what the recoil/vibration from a deck mounted .50 (especially at a high rate of fire) will do to your pretty little boat. We can discuss the effects of the muzzle flash in a second lecture.

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster (where all of this talk of yachts with firepower seems silly,) VA

[cbrenton]

It's a little known fact, but worth mentioning--Cape Dory did manufacture a few pocket destroyers. They were dogs to windward and never really caught on.

Charlie Brenton
"Carol Anne"

[John Vigor]

It's a little known fact, but worth mentioning--Cape Dory did manufacture a few pocket destroyers. They were dogs to windward and never really caught on.

Charlie Brenton
"Carol Anne"

Charlie, why would they want to destroy pockets? I don't get it. Pockets is where you keep your ammo, isn't it?

John V.

http://www.johnvigor.com/blog.html

[darmoose]

Andy D....where are yooouuu????

[S/V Necessity]

I have come to the realization that I surely must already have one of these "pocket destroyers" This explains a lot! (some people may keep ammo in their pocket, I used to keep money in mine...)

[cbrenton]

It always fascinates me how these threads can morph. It is also fascinating how much energy goes into any thread which begins with topics of self defense or anchoring.

Charlie
"Carol Anne"

[Troy Scott]

I've never carried or used a real gun. I've always thought that the best burglar-proofing system would just put out enough sleeping gas to keep the bad guys still while they're being handcuffed and duct taped. (I'm only half joking...) A similar means of harmlessly disabling an intruder while I'm aboard would suit my style. I probably wouldn't be able to actually shoot and kill a bad guy. But I think most folks wouldn't hesitate to use a tranquilizer gun on a pirate. Let the b*****ds wake up in jail.

[Troy Scott]

Obviously we shouldn't be cruising near Somalia. Are there areas closer to home that we should avoid?

Hmmmm...., I'm wishing for that Klingon Cloaking Device.

[Oswego John]

Well all,

Here it is, another slow Saturday with half of the country's CDs still on the hard. So, maybe, this is as good a time as any to make a few comments and maybe sneak in a story or two.

I have to comment on Jim Davis' post concerning those beautiful brass saluting cannons. Simply elegance personified.

Just about any yacht club or sailing organization that I am aware of possessed one of these beauties, or a variation of them. There is one place that I used to hang who would fire a salute at the end of the day as the colors were struck.

There is no tall ship, pirate or otherwise, this side of the state of Iowa, that would dare risk leaving port without a working rail mounted cannon or three, as well as a full complement of ammo in its powder magazine. Can you see how this will segue into a story. It will.

About ten years or so ago, I was helping to deliver a large multimasted schooner through the Great Lakes, final destination, Chigago.

When possible, it is normal for many medium to large ships to help defray their operating expenses by working with local organizations en route, to let the general public participate in tours and actual short sails on board these ships. The local organization does the advance advertising and provides the docking facility and ticket sales. The ship capitain and crew provide the excitement for the locals.

Most often, the passengers are invited to help the crew raise the sails, coil the halyards and other tasks necessary to get under way.The passengers are very eager to perform real sea-going duties. There is always a large cheer when the operations officer kills the engine and the captain announces on the bullhorn, "We are now sailing on wind power alone". For the vast majority, it is a first time experience for them.

Then, of course, there often occurs the obligatory pirate entertainment. Quite often, it starts with a noisy argument between two of the crew which evolves into a bloodthirsty sword fight from one deck level to another. Their performance would put Douglas Fairbanks Jr or Errol Flynn to shame. Bandannas and eye patches were commonly part of the costumes.

The subtle word would spread among the younger passengers that we were really a pirate ship in disguise. We had to be careful and make the young ones pledge not to divulge this to anyone. When a strange ship would come into view, the captain would bark out the order to prepare the cannon(s), enemy on the port quarter. Raise the "Jolly Roger".

A high point of the mini-cruise was for the young ones to actually steer the ship. A proud memento would be a picture of the child steering that was taken by his parent. Quite possibley, a higher point would be allowing the kids to fire the cannon. Usually, the girls shied away from the noise and the reek of black powder. The boys, on the other hand were gung ho and most eager to "let 'er rip".

I remember on one adventuresome day, we were leaving the western end of Lake Erie and sailing northward up the Detroit River. We has a date to be in the port of Algonac, Michigan. Algonac is located on the Saint Claire River, which helps connect Lake Erie to the southern end of Lake Huron.

We had a full load on the morning sail and an even larger amount of passengers on the afternoon sail. Things were going smoothly. The pirate drill went as good as it can get, the weather was perfect and all was well with the world in that neck of the woods.

Well, almost all was good up to that point. One of the eager, albeit gullible young lads of maybe nine years of age was about to fire the cannon. One of the pirates suggested that he aim the cannon a tad to foreward. The cannon roared and belched black, reeking smoke. A mistake was made, a huge mistake.

After the smoke had almost cleared, the pirate hollered at the boy, "Now see what you did. You shot a big hole in that water tower and now the police and Coast Guard and the US Navy will be coming out to get us and we'll all be in a heap of trouble".

Well, the young lad's eyes filled with tears which developed into uncontrollable sobbing and wailing. Something said in innocent jest backfired into a terrible situation. The parents, as well as the captain tried to console the poor boy. The boy's mother had some sort of medicine in her purse that the boy was given to calm him down. A costly lawsuit might have come out of this situation but the parents were understanding and didn't pursue it further.

So much for ship armament and pirates.

Hey, you never know.

Aaaarrrrgh
O J

[Jim Davis]

John

If in port I make sure it is aimed away from the pier and of course not pointed toward another boat less than 100 yards or so. I also call out either "Gunner, Fire" or "Fire In The Hole". Even with these warnings most dogs and a few humans instantly become colonostapy prepped. When I serve as a RC boat, the skippers are warned to not cross the line early as we have been known to use a solid shot for the start - makes "over earlys" easy to spot. Actually all I use are blanks, but that is enough. Arrival and departure salutes, sunset gun but I will not use it for "morning colors".

[M. R. Bober]

...I know some cruisers hide their guns on board, and don't declare them, but I'd be scared to do that for fear they'd confiscate my boat along with the gun.

I presume nobody carries an assault weapon -- or do they?

Finally, is it possible to sail around the world under the American flag without a gun of any kind these days?

John V.

Carry your saber!

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster (where fearmongers fear to tread,) VA