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AIBU?

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Original poster

sailing near Somalia

23 replies

pastapestoforgotherpassword · 22/02/2011 15:57

Why why why do people keep sailing for pleasure in the dangerous pirate ridden waters near Somalia. I am being unreasonable to think that there is some degree of selfishness involved in sailing through somewhere that is so unsafe, when you KNOW that it is so unsafe!. There are clear warnings in place that if you sail there the US navy cannot guarantee your safety and the area is best avoided. I absolutely think that people should have the right to do what they want or go where they like (within the realms of the law of course) but to sail somewhere where these pirates are so violent and merciless is just foolhardy isn't it?

OP posts:
Original poster
pastapestoforgotherpassword · 22/02/2011 15:59
  • Am I being unreasonable, not I am obv! Bloody phone!
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anythingwithagiraffeonit · 22/02/2011 16:01

YANBU but in some cases people aren't sailing in dangerous waters...

I can't recal the names of the people who were released recently but the pirates went an awfully long way to them..

(a very factual post !! Not vague at all... Where's my brain?)

EldritchCleavage · 22/02/2011 16:02

Trouble is the pirates are now long range. The latest hijack was off Oman, which is a very long way away.

Bunbaker · 22/02/2011 16:02

I don't get it either. Neither do I get people who climb Ben Nevis in a blizzard, people who try to cross Morecambe Bay when the tide is coming in, people who go hill walking in inappropriate gear etc.

NinkyNonker · 22/02/2011 16:14

The pirates operate over amazing ranges now, and people are generally en route somewhere...not just cruising the Somalian coast.

Original poster
pastapestoforgotherpassword · 22/02/2011 16:24

Yes I see your point about the range the pirates operate over, its awful though isn't it. And it may have been wrong of me to state Somalia only as there is piracy everywhere, it was just in reaction to the news story today about the 4 Americans killed yesterday.

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reelingintheyears · 22/02/2011 16:32

Yes piracy is rife in other parts of the world but Somalia is well to to be dangerous for this.

reelingintheyears · 22/02/2011 16:33

'Well known'.

Takingthebiscuit99 · 22/02/2011 18:08

r u trying to upset sailors, this must be a troll post emergency
no a post from a troll

god I'm so Confused these days

Emo76 · 22/02/2011 18:34

it's up there with cycling tours of Helmland and hiking on the West Bank

springbokdoc · 22/02/2011 19:05

You definitely are NBU. There are meet ups so that a flotilla of boats can travel in a large group with a navy armed escort for those sailors en route elsewhere. They are widely publicised in sailing/cruising magazines to try and increase safety. I don't understand why experienced sailors don't use these meet ups - I have seen comments that they like the solitude/don't want to wait/inconvenient times for meets Hmm

Original poster
pastapestoforgotherpassword · 23/02/2011 00:45

Exactly springbocdoc, so it comes down to plain selfishness dosent it, I think people think it won't happen to them, but I'm sure their families back at home wish they would have taken all precautions necessary, if someone said "hey have a quick swim in that river, it has quite a few sharks and you probably will get bitten, but you are welcome to take your chances" how many of us really would I wonder?

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Original poster
pastapestoforgotherpassword · 23/02/2011 00:51

And Takingthebiscuit, why would this be a troll post? Its in the news atm and I'm qenuinely curious as to peoples opinions

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squeakytoy · 23/02/2011 00:53

I dont understand it either. I actually dont get why people want to try and sail around the world on the high seas in something the size of a caravan though... just the thought of it terrifies me, and thats without the pirates...

Give me a huge luxury liner any day (well, apart from the Titanic maybe)...

Chil1234 · 23/02/2011 06:43

I don't think it's as simple as you're making out. Pirates are operating in a wide area, as has been mentioned but the oceans are vast and there are much more lucrative targets than a small pleasure craft. 'Risk' is present in a lot of areas of life and sailing isn't exactly a safe occupation - you can be killed bobbing round the Isle of Wight if a squall hits you the wrong way. If no-one ever did anything because there were a few dangers then life would lose something. And if someone takes a calculated risk on the understanding that there is no-one to help if it goes wrong, I'd say that's their perogative.

OTheHugeManatee · 23/02/2011 09:31

The pirates are pretty sophisticated these days, and operate on inflatables launched out of much bigger 'mother ships' that can range 1,400 nautical miles from the coast of Somalia. That's everywhere in an arc from Madagascar, via the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of Oman through to Sri Lanka. If you're trying to get from Indonesia to South Africa without having to go via the poles, it's hard to see the alternative.

Effectively you're saying that if you're going yachting it's selfish to leave the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans. So YAB a bit U.

What needs to happen is not that private sailing boats avoid an entire third of the world's oceans, but that a proper international effort is put in place to stop piracy.

laosvher · 23/02/2011 09:35

On a slight tangent - I didn't actually realise pirates were real until the somalia kidnappings/hostages.
I wondered why people went out there too, if they knew people were being taken as hostages.

mermaidspurse · 23/02/2011 09:36

They were experienced sailors, they had at some points in their voyage sailed in flotillas. I note they distributed bibles so no doubt sailed well off the beaten track.

Why mock a way of life that you have no understanding of. The freedom of the sea is for many sailor a way of life. This does not equate with coupling up your caravan and trundling off up the M4.
I expect that they knew the risks all too well, the blue water sailing community is a small one.
Yes there are mad places that we should perhaps not go to, be it on foot, wheels or in a boat but if people didn't do mad and amazing things we would all be stuck in a caravan park.

NinkyNonker · 23/02/2011 09:36

Dh and I are hoping to do an extended cruise, a year or so perhaps, in a few yrs or so. Buy a yacht, Bugger off with the kids for a while. Think we might avoid the African coast though!

EldritchCleavage · 23/02/2011 11:40

It's the Horn of Africa and the Gulf though NinkyNonker, not all of Africa. Plenty of good sailing and nice ports on the West coast of Africa, down to South Africa or off the Azores.

Sorry, it's a bugbear of mine when people lump the whole continent into one as if it's all the same.

fedupwithdeployment · 23/02/2011 12:03

I think if the situation in Somalia was resolved, the situation would dramatically improve. It is an entirely lawless state, and expecting the rest of the world to patrol the sea off the MASSIVE coast of that country is entirely unrealistic.

I agree with the OP.

NinkyNonker · 23/02/2011 12:12

You're right Eldritch, my apologies.

Original poster
pastapestoforgotherpassword · 24/02/2011 07:10

Mermaids purse I don't think anyone is MOCKING it? Just asking reasonable questions as to the safety of such voyages?

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