12ga shotgun vs. 2 boats of Pirates

The Highroad ^ | March 11, 2005 | Rodney J. Nowlin, USN Retire

[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

[El Gato]

unaware that an American yacht might be armed,

Hmm, wonder what flag the yachts were sailing under? Too bad they weren't each armed with a Ma Deuce, or maybe a 7.62 Gatling, either way loaded with API.

[El Gato]

Declaring an M1A or an AR-10 is on a level with declaring ten pounds of C-4 or heroin. BIG problems!

I think I'd rather hide the hardware and risk getting caught and losing the boat, going to jail, or having to pay a big fine bribe, etc, than face pirates with nothing but a 12 gauge. Although I'm glad they had the 12 ga.

[Cold Heart]

The searches can be extreme. My first captains job was on a tanker that shuttled in the North Sea. Prior to my boarding, the British customs darn near took that 90,000 ton ship apart with screw drivers looking for drugs.

Another thing that is considered illegal in some countries is what is called "hides". A compartment to smuggle or "hide" things.

[Travis McGee]

Rust is not a big problem for blued steel guns on boats, in my experience. Just an occasional wipedown with an impregnated cloth.

[Travis McGee]

Darn right!

[Travis McGee]

To declare, or not to declare, that is the yachties' question. Pros and cons either way, and I've done both.

[Travis McGee]

Exactly. A hiding place "proves" intent to smuggle. One must be very careful in how this is done. Subtle.

[mamelukesabre]

I don't remember ever firing a benelli. But I do remember one time I fired a bottom eject 12 ga that seemed to kick too hard for the loads that were in it.

I've heard people complain about the old browning humpback for several reasons...too heavy, whacks your shoulder too hard and cycles too slow.

But I personally never noticed any discomfort from it in either way, although it is a bit slow, but so are all auto shotguns. It's one of my favorite shotguns. I like auto fives alot. In fact, it's happens to be the only auto shotgun that I like at all. My opinion is that there are two kinds of shotguns, slow and fast. autos are slow, and everything else is fast. So when I hear someone complain about a slow cycling auto, it just doesn't make sense to me. If you want fast, get a pump or a double.

[TC Rider]

I've got an old Remington 11 (A Browning 5 in American clothes), it's a duck gun and easy to shoot.

My Remington 1100 Combat Master cycles faster than I can shoot it.

[mamelukesabre]

There's no shotgun made(that I know of) that will shoot faster than an old style pumpgun that will let you hold the trigger down and pump away cowboy style. I've beat buddies(speed wise) that have very expensive baretta auto shotguns using just my plain old monkey wards model 35 or my old winchester model 12. I'm just a tad faster with the 35 though, because the grip style is a bit more comfortable for me.

One friend of mine, who has both the pump version of your gun, and your gun, and also a pump action 30-06 remington with hi-cap magazines(he's a huge remington fan), went clay pigeon shooting with me and the first time he heard me do my rapid fire thing, it scared the * out of him. He thought my gun exploded and he actually hit the dirt.

That pump action rifle is kinda cool, although I'm not too sure how usefull it is. With a scope on it, it's nearly impossible to stay on target while pumping it for a quick second shot. It sorta defeats the purpose in my opinion. I'd probably conclude that with a rifle that powerful and that powerfull of a scope, pump action doesn't give you any advantage over a bolt action.

In case you can't tell, I really like pump action. I'm also a little partial to 16 ga. Although, I must admit I find those really short 12 ga rounds made for cops very interesting. If I could get a pump gun with a really short action that only chambers those shorty twelves, I might like it better. Better yet, if someone would apply that same philosophy to a 10 ga round...a super shorty ten ga gun...now THAT would be quite the little scattergun. Something like that would most definitely cause me and my greenbacks to part.

[Redcloak]

A predictable outcome when one of the boats is named Gandalf.

Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.

[TC Rider]

I can't honestly say which is quicker, but some young cops kick my ass at every 3 gun match using 870 pumps.

[Southack]

"It's not a question of affording the weaponry, it's the legality of possessing them in most countries where you must stop over. Declaring an M1A or an AR-10 is on a level with declaring ten pounds of C-4 or heroin. BIG problems!"

http://www.captainforhire.com/prod01.htm

12 gauge flare guns can shoot .38 cal without becoming a legal problem in host ports.

Peace of Mind for you and Your Family
The Pirates Plague adapter will allow the capability of firing a .38 caliber pistol bullet from a standard plastic 12 gauge flare gun.  It was created by an offshore delivery captain as a discrete no hassle solution to carrying a weapon on board.  The adapter is not a firearm, it is legal to possess all over the world. This is the indispensable survival  tool for hunting, fishing, or self-defense and is a must for every ditch bag or life raft.  Test results on the 6061 aluminum adapter indicated the Anodize treated surface withstood corrosion in a five percent salt spray test for 336 Hours.
Pirate's Plague	Adapter For 25mm	Pirate's Patch	Pirate's Panic
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$75.00 ea.	$25.00 ea.	$20.00 (qty 3)	$20.00 (qty 3)

[Travis McGee]

I'll look into these, but my memory is that past inventions which adapted flare guns to fire ammo have been shut down by the BATFE.

[maica]

Hi Trav

[AdamSelene235]

Interesting toy. But I'd prefer mine in 454 Casull.