There have been several well
publicized incidents of piracy towards
yachtsman recently, especially in the Arabian sea, and this has
prompted quite
alot of discussion in the microcruising forum as to whether it is
appropriate
to carry firearms aboard our tiny boats. In response I wrote about our
experiences while cruising in "Little Cruiser" when we were in a
troubled area
of Andros.
Again, like in some earlier posts, I was thinking "what the heck does
this have
to do with micro-cruising;" but then I thought back to our 2003 trip to
the
Bahamas in "Little Cruiser" when we circumnavigated Andros Island. For
some
reason I believed it would be exciting to circle this island because I
had never
heard of any other cruisers doing it. Looking at my charts and reading
guide
books did not show any particularly difficult body of water to cross;
but closer
investigation did reveal some challenges when tackling the West coast.
For
one, the West coast of Andros is very shallow almost everywhere, with
large
areas of shoals extending quite a ways offshore. The place is pretty
deserted
and there are no towns to re-provision along the entire 150 miles of
coastline
except at Red Bays at the North end. More disturbing, however, is the
fact that
visiting yachtsman are warned not to venture in this area because it is
a known
jumping off point for drug smugglers leaving for U.S. waters. However,
at the
time I convinced myself that since we were in a tiny boat we would draw
little
attention from the "baddies" and our 9" draft would carry us safely
across
almost any shoals.
Our plan was to start the circumnavigation from Morgan's Bluff in the
North and
to travel down the East coast. Along the way we would ask the locals
what they
knew first hand about traveling on the "forbidden" side. As it turned
out, quite
a few people told us that the "activity" on the West coast had quieted
down
significantly since 9-11 when the U.S. had stepped up it's efforts to
prevent
people from entering Florida illegally. Therefore, once we got to the
Southern cape, we headed right for the West coast. Pretty much as soon
as we got there,
though, things seemed very different then anywhere else in the Bahamas.
There
was very little boat traffic as one would expect, and the few people we
did see
were not seem happy to see us there. We did not receive the customary
waves or the friendly smiles we were used to seeing.
Our first real test came near the entrance to South Bight when a fast
moving 25
foot skiff with a 55 gallon drum strapped to the center console came
screaming
up towards us from behind for a closer inspection. The three men on
board began
shouted at us and motioned us to come closer, but it didn't feel right
so I
drove "Little Cruiser" towards the shoreline where I knew there was
only a foot
of water. They definitely weren't acting friendly, and I was pretty
sure that
they didn't want to come off plane and get their deep "v" hull craft
stuck in
the mud. Luckily they just shadowed us for a short while offshore before
continuing northward at high speed.
In hindsight, I'm sure they would have tried to rob us had we stopped
because a
little over a week later a cruiser we knew told us that 3 men in an
identical boat had tried to
rob him in South Bight. They lured him to stop his 25 foot motor sailer
by
saying that they needed gas, and then they boarded his boat and made
demands
after he gave them fuel. When things got ugly, he ran down below and
grabbed his
machete, waiting inside the companionway for them to enter. When the
first guy
stuck his head through the hatch this old veteran sailor was ready to
decapitate him. The would-be intruder and his buddies then thought
better of it,
and got off the boat and left. The terrified cruiser next pulled
anchor, started
his engine and blew out of the bight before nightfall, heading back to
the
safety of civilization as fast as his boat could carry him. I have to
say at
this point that there have been very few known cases of piracy in the
Bahamas
in recent times, and that the men we and the other solo sailor
encountered were
probably just looking for an easy mark during lean times. Had this
occurred off
Somalia or some other hostile place we most certainly would have been
robbed,
ransomed or killed.
Now getting back to our trip up the West coast of Andros, I admit I was
concerned for our safety the whole time we were there. I figured that
if we
happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, we probably would
not make
it home. One night while we were anchored peacefully in a large creek,
we were
startled by the loud rumble of several large and powerful outboard
engines being
called into action upstream of us. We wasted no time pulling anchor and
getting
out of the way, fearful that a collision with a fast boat on a midnight
delivery would
be disasterous. Another time we unintentionally anchored near a fuel
cache, and bright
and early the next morning a stern Bahamian was there to encourage us
to move along.
Now I guess the real question is whether we would have felt or been
safer if we
had carried a gun aboard our micro-cruiser. At one point I would have
said yes
since I was really frightened that we would run into some real trouble
sooner than
later. However, then I started thinking what the local authorities or
even the
assailant's friends or family might have done to us had we injured or
killed them
in their own country even if it was in self defense. I don't think we
would
relish being in a foreign jail or being the target of an angry mob. In
the end, I
guess we just had to have faith that our tiny boat would not generate
too much
attention from the people who didn't want us to be there in the first
place, and
we ultimately used our sharpie's shallow draft to stay out of harm's
way as much
as possible. In conclusion, I guess the smartest thing to do is not to
travel in
areas where you know that there is trouble brewing and to be alert
enough to
move quickly away when it does arise.