Travis McGee
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
An large American flag will be feared and respected. "Beware the Amriki! They shoot back!"
Bad, bad place to sail. Be well armed and on guard at all times, imo.
Thanks for sharing this story. Glad they made it out safely.
Wow. Nothing like a "pirates on the high seas" adventure story!
Landlubbers cannot offer advice of much worth concerning marksmaship on yahcts.
Shooting from a yacht is similar to shooting from the roof of an SUV, while driving across rutted fields. It has NOTHING to do with range shooting. You cannot get a "rest." You can only shoot offhand, while your boat is moving in several directions at once.
OTOH, you can see your splashes, and correct accordingly. Of course, on your next (offhand) shot, your boat has twisted another way under you, and you must take an entirely new aim.
Shooting from a boat is NOTHING like shooting on solid land. NOTHING. Your super accurate M1A is no more likely to hit than a Mini-14. The skills required to hit are all different.
If you want to practice for the sea, shoot from the roof rack of a Suburban, while your buddy swerves all over a bumpy field, trying to throw you off.
For target practice on boats, I enjoy shooting balloons. They stick to the water, and get smaller as you sail away. They go up and down on swells, as you are also doing. You can see your splashes, to know how close you came with each shot. Of course, a hit makes the balloon disappear.
Not only an effective weapon, but the person using it was obviously proficient using it.
Anyone up for tryin' this?
Travis McGee
What'd you shoot'em with?
A freakin' twelve-gauge, what'd ya think?
I think that thousands of troops with Iraq convoy and road patrol duty would be great at this kind of shooting.
Of course, they would be used to belt fed weapons on pintle mounts...
A modern holo-sight would be perfect for this kind of shooting, with a semi auto rifle.
And as the story showed, inside of 100 yards, a shotgun would be terrific.
Two sailboats close by are a good tactic, to provide supporting fire to each other, and allow each boat to concentrate on defending only one side.
Sounds like a typical weekend for me, 'cept we use jeeps.
I did mention the Mini may not be considered as an assault weapon. It's too bad about the gun laws in those countries when you're traveling inside your home with everything you own. I'm sure the super wealthy don't have those problems when they can travel with their security teams.
"Abdul, don't go closer! The stars and stripes flag means death! A sailing boat with a red and white maple leaf flag is coming later, let us wait for him!"
Then you are ready for boat defense duty!
I've spent quite a bit of time in Bahamian waters over many years, professionally during the 80's, never been boarded yet, though was approached once near Norman's Cay 5 or so years back - the patrol vessel veered away at the last moment on noticing we had kids aboard our 28 Whitewater. I always check in and do the required paperwork, which is what I think you ought to do while a guest in a foreign country. Then, your firearms are registered with another office, at the port of entry. I can imagine our LEO's would not be too friendly to Bahamians illegally fishing Florida waters either, loading up coolers, as Floridians often do in the Bahamas. Bearing in mind what you say, though.
I did once have a crew member busted by a Bahamian constable for smoking dope. Had to fly the guy out of the country pronto to keep him out of Fox Hill. The constable asked for a few books from our on board library, I was glad that's all he wanted - I wouldn't give him my nautical slide rule which he was fascinated by, this was before the days of GPS!
We used to carry an AR 15, 12 ga, and 336 in .35 at least, in the old days. Presently I'm usually content with just a mini.
I own at least one of your fishing rods, had it for quite a while, it's a nice piece of equipment - A 20# conventional rig that I modified for heavy deep jigging - it's been in the Bahamas a lot.
As for the guys in the article, one has to wonder how they justified "yachting" in such a well known pirate corridor. I do admire the way they fought, however.
12 guage good up close....BUT...They would have no problem whatsoever if they carried a 50 calibre rifle.....flat tragectory for about a mile and will penetrate just about anything.
Given a 2nd chance to arm up, I bet this guy would want a whole lot of weapons more powerful than a 12 guage with 00 buck.
Something in the 50 caliber range comes to mind
Doesn't the bobbing of the boats throw off your aim?
Seems a reliable 7.62x39 semi-auto with 30 rd mags for sending bullets out a distance, and a 12 ga shotgun loaded with 00 buck for if they get up close and ready to board, would work best.
Pistol grip AR-15 vs wood stock Mini-14 would be no distinction at all in Australia, England, etc. Both would be totally banned, on a level almost with C-4. You have to pay for bonded armed security guards to transport them to a government armory. On leaving the country, you do it in reverse. MAJOR hassle!
A "field grade" shotgun that is pump action or (legally safest) double barreled is the least problematic anywhere in the world.
Some folks bring an old milsurp rifle, like an Enfield, and call it their "shark gun."
Another tactic is to buy an AK-47 when you arrive in Africa or Yemen, and ditch it when you get to the Med and back to "civilization."
How far off shore do you have to be as to not attract attention from the Coast Guard? That sounds like a great way to practice.
I have a mini-14 for boat duty. You aim more by spotting your splashes than anything else. Ultimate "bench group" accuracy has little to do with hitting targets on the ocean. A mini is fine, or an SKS.
Plus, with a cheaper rifle, you will not hesitate as much to deep-six it if that is your best legal choice when being found with it might mean jail time in a 3rd world hell hole.
If you have a thousand dollar AR-15, are you going to toss it overboard?
AGAIN???
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