Posted on 03/20/2005 4:22:16 AM PST by SLB
"We are safe in port of Aden. It‚s been 3 days repairing the damage. 30 bullets holes in deck, cabin house, dodger, and alas, newly varnished mast. Our bow shows evidence of a satisfying crunch. Our new paint job was not meant to be. Dinghy on deck was seriously wounded but in stable condition, much repatched. No wine was hurt.
This is the „official‰ report filed with the Yemen Coast Guard, Yemen Navy, Aden Port Control, US Coalition 5th Fleet, US Embassy and State Department? but not Carol‚s mother. Unfortunately, the poor guy that shoots has to write up the paper work. The one that rams does not engender any paper-work, except sand paper work.
March 11, 2005, written by Rodney J. Nowlin, USN Retired Pirate Attack off Yemen Coast
On Tuesday, March 8, 2005 at position 13 Degrees 28 North / 49 Degrees 07 East, in the infamous Pirate Alley of the Gulf of Aden, two sailing yachts, Madhi and Gandalf, were moving SW 30 miles off the coast of Yemen proceeding to the port of Aden from Salalah, Oman.
At about 0900 local, two outboard powered fiberglass longboats, about 20 feet long, each containing 3 men, passed off our sterns moving south at about 25 knots into the open Gulf between Yemen and Somalia. An hour later they returned, one coming quite close and looking us over carefully. The second boat passed off our bows but quite a ways away. These boats were obviously not engaged in a normal activity like fishing. At that time we were south of Al Mukalla, Yemen. The area around Al Mukalla is well documented as being a piracy, drug & people smuggling problem area and we maintained a careful watch for anything out of the ordinary.
At about 1600 we observed two different boats approaching us head on from the west with the glare of the sunset in our eyes. These were 25-30 feet long, had inboard diesel engines and higher freeboard. We immediately motored closer together. As soon as they saw us close ranks they started coming very fast directly at us. There were 4 men in each boat. They separated at about 200 yards with one boat coming down Madhi‚s port side, shouting and firing into the cockpit. The other boat, firing automatic weapons came at Gandalf. There were no warning shots. Carol on Gandalf began sending Maydays on every frequency.
The first boat swung around behind Mahdi‚s stern to come up and board us. At that point, I , Rod Nowlin aboard Mahdi and armed with a 12 gauge shotgun loaded with 00 buckshot, started shooting into their boat. I forced them to keep their heads down so they could not shoot at us. I am not sure I hit anyone at that point. I could see the driver of the boat crouched down behind the steering console. After firing three shots at them, their engine started to smoke and I swung around to try to shoot at the second boat ahead. At that point I saw Jay Barry on Gandalf ram the second boat amidships almost cutting it in two and turning it almost completely over. I turned back around to shoot at the boat still behind Mahdi. That was when they turned away from Mahdi and headed toward the stern of Gandalf. Gandalf was beside us about 100 feet away. The bow of the pirate boat came right up against Gandalf‚s stern and two men stood up on the bow with guns to board Gandalf. That was a serious and probably fateful error on their part. I shot both of them. That boat then veered away and I shot the driver, although I am not sure of the outcome because they were farther away and I didn‚t knock him down like the other two trying to board Gandalf.
Mahdi & Gandalf kept going at full speed to put as much distance between the pirates and us as possible. As soon as we were out of rifle range, we looked back and both attack boats were drifting and seemed to be disabled.
A merchant ship nearby finally answered our Mayday and diverted course to position itself between the floundering pirates and the fleeing yachts. They said they would contact the authorities‚ by Sat phone and then sailed alongside us for 4 hours after dark to make sure we would be all right. Best speed was made to the Port of Aden 180 miles away.
If Jay on Gandalf had not had the presence of mind to veer over into one boat and ram it, the outcome of this attack would have been totally different. All the guys needed to do was stand off a ways and shoot us to pieces with automatic weapons. We were extremely lucky. We broadcast Mayday calls on VHF 16 and all HF radio frequencies, including two HF frequencies that were supplied by the US Coast Guard near Oman only a few days before. Frequencies which the Coalition Forces Warships in this area were supposed to be monitoring. There was no response. The pirates were well organized and well armed. There were at least 4 boats involved. They had set up a picket line out from the Yemen coast probably covering 75 miles out, so if you transited the area during the day they would not miss seeing you. The two attack boats appeared to have come from the south before positioning themselves ahead of us in the sunset.
There has been speculation in the past that this ongoing piracy problem off Yemen‚s coast was being carried out by Somali pirates. Given the number, the types of boats involved, and the direction the supposed spotter boats were coming from, this does not appear to be the case. The men in the attack boats looked both African and Arab.
There was no evidence that this was a people smuggling operation. There were no men, women or children cowering in the boats. These were not fishing boats with nets or overhead sun protection. They appeared to be purpose-built boats, 25-30 feet long, with wooden splines or poles fashioned above the gunwales to which a plastic tarp or shield was hung chest high for the men to hide behind after shooting. The problem is getting worse and the pirate attacks are getting deadly. One could only expect that the Yemen Government will take more direct action At very least, allow yachts to group in Salalah, Oman and at some point along the NW Yemen coast request an escort until Aden or the Straits.
Rodney J. Nowlin, USN Retire March 11, 2005
I have an old 24V savage that my boy lost off the snowmobile one winter....found it two seasons later.....:o)
It looks a little rough round the edges ......but I'll let the patina stay .
my momma has a monstrous Savage bolt-action goose-gun...
damn thing's like 5+ feet long.
fu-u-u-u-u-ugly gun, but damn it can throw lead
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
The gun makes a huge difference. Some just buck hard.
I've heard said of some of the Benelli's that they kill at one end, and wound at the other.
My personal weapon is a somewhat modified Remington 1100 Combat Master. A semi is usually a bit easier, plus I'm a believer in the SIMS Lab recoil pads.
I relly like my Ithaca M37 "featherlight"
You're words are very kind. Please look me up if you ever wander back through the Carolinas and we can go to the range or a match.
I compete in 3 gun matches against a lot of cops, vets and active duty types. The young bucks usually kick my ass with their 870s, but you're right, they are the exceptions. I meet many cops, who if they didn't have to qualify twice a year, would never go to the range.
I win. Well, maybe not. I suppose it has to actually work, right?
The stock got broke somewhere along the line and was glued back together plus a couple of wood scews. The extractor quit a long time ago, but he used his pocket knife to pull the empties out.
It still shot pretty well but would be a candidate for ugly gun of the month, if not year.
He still used that gun regularly until he died from the after effects of a car accident at age 86.
LOL......Yep has to function as a gun .....not a grenade. Eakerisms aside !
>>Who in their right minds would be sailing a couple of yachts in a pirate-infested area of the Gulf of Aden?<<
Trolling for trophies?
>>Or why not simply make one out of an old spray paint system? That's something you might easily have on board a boat. Heck, you work it right and you could still use it as a spray paint gun.<,
And if the "authorities" steal it they would be in a real surprise!
My Mossberg 500 w/ 18" barrel, no choke, 8 rnd mag and cheap sling is reasonably ugly. The forehand is factory, but is so irregular it looks homemade. When the Parkerization wore off, I just sanded it down and sprayed it with black Chevy engine paint. However, it shoots good. OTOH, I have sprayed Caterpillar diesel engines with Sherwin Williams white house paint, the stuff never turned turned the slightest color even under sustained operating temperatures.
In the 80's I guess even a lot more dope was moving to FL through the Bahamas than today. Lots of guys got involved, hoping to get rich. The USCG Notice to Mariners actually advised, as you probably remember, that all boaters in Bahamian waters arm themselves. Seems like every yacht going there had lots of firepower, even the little boats venturing to Bimini were carrying stuff.
I remember one guy, an airline captain, anchored off Andros, shot several Bahamians that he said tried to force their way aboard. Authorities accepted his version of the event, none of the guys from Andros were alive to argue, IIRC. Andros' reputation has improved these days, I believe.
Lots of crazy stuff went on - I remember once hearing machine gun fire on the water while fishing up near Isaacs, found plenty of bales floating in the edge of the Stream on the way back to the dock.
I went to Bimini twice this summer, carried my mini 14. Can't remember if I declared it a mini or just referred to it as a Ruger .223. But I think they'd still not have a problem with bringing it in.
AR's can be trouble around water. When transitioning from swimmer ops to shooting, sometimes the gas tube doesn't drain, and sometimes bad things happen. The normal protocal is to tip the barrel to vertical (in the air I mean) and pull the charging handle/bolt carrier back, and allow any water to drain before firing. Even then, a badly fouled tube can hold a wet muck in there, and serious problems can happen.
Don't ask / don't tell.
That may be most cops...
There are two ways to complete a circumnavigation. Under Africa, or over it. The Red Sea is over it. Both ways have pros and cons.
I totally love sailing and cruising in the Bahamas. I'm in San Diego these days, but I hope to be homeported back in FL in a couple of years. Nothing like crossing the Stream, and hitting that clear clear water! What great memories I have of the Bahamas! I could spend the rest of my life there, between St. Augustine FL, Key West, and the Far Out Islands.
For individuals, but not for penetrating boat hulls.
My last post probably sounded uncomplementary, but I have always loved the Bahamas, spent a lot of time there over the years. I like the people too, have always found them friendly and OK to get along with. Their attitude on life differs from that of most Americans. Haven't been over there as much as I used to, though.
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