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12ga shotgun vs. 2 boats of Pirates
The Highroad ^ | March 11, 2005 | Rodney J. Nowlin, USN Retire

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


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: aden; bang; banglist; maritime; pirates; uscg; usn; yemen
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To: kstewskis
If you have a clear horizon in 360*, you are good to go. Your slugs and the sounds will not travel as far as your eye can see to the horizon. Generally ten or more miles off shore, with no other vessels in sight, let her rip.

Be aware that today, the "homeland security" guys might be stopping you on your way into port. Don't have fired brass laying in the scuppers!

61 posted on 03/20/2005 8:11:12 AM PST by Travis McGee (----- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com -----)
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To: Bear_Slayer

It's a fact about the inaccuracy. There are actually two problems with the Mini. The first is caused by the owner when they change out the stock. The mistake is made by tightening the four 10-32 gas cylinder screws too much. Ten inch groups at fifty yards are common.
The second is when the barrel heats up. There really isn't anything that can be done about that except to keep all of your shooting down to five rounds at a time. After market barrels can be bought but after the receiver and gas cylinder is mated, the combined price is about the same as an Bushmaster AR.


62 posted on 03/20/2005 8:12:07 AM PST by Shooter 2.5 (Vote a Straight Republican Ballot. Rid the country of dems.)
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To: Travis McGee
The shotgun was effective because the pirates chose poor tactics and came into shotgun range too soon. It would have been useless beyond 100 yards. A good weapon to have, obviously, once the pirates came inside of its range.

I'm guess they were going to board and terrorize the crew in the hopes of getting any electornic account information / hidden items, then kill the men, and then have fun with the women before killing them.

So they wanted to be able to board a boat with unarmed victims, not a boat with a bunch of bullet holes in it that may be sinking along with all dead bodies.

If you can pretend to be unarmed until they get close to board you (hopefully they want to keep you alive, at least until they figure they have gotten everything from you they can) and then open up - that would be the tactic to use.

63 posted on 03/20/2005 8:12:22 AM PST by Screaming_Gerbil (Let's Roll...)
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To: Travis McGee
Be aware that today, the "homeland security" guys might be stopping you on your way into port. Don't have fired brass laying in the scuppers!

Ah, good reminder ;)

64 posted on 03/20/2005 8:15:43 AM PST by kstewskis ("Tolerance is what happens when one loses their principles"....Fr. A Saenz.)
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To: humblegunner; Tijeras_Slim; Travis McGee; Squantos
Laugh!

You fell off twice last time!


Travis, check yer email.

65 posted on 03/20/2005 8:16:42 AM PST by Eaker (stop and kick dirt on these n00bs actin like b00bs.......:o) - Squantos 18-Feb-05 -)
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To: Rebelbase
a friend of my brother's had a large open deck modified cigarette boat. He fished bahamian waters all time and simply outran the patrol boats whenever they approached.

LOL! The theme from "Miami Vice" started going through my head as soon as I read this.

66 posted on 03/20/2005 8:18:57 AM PST by Hardastarboard
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To: Travis McGee
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....

Thanks for your input, Travis.

Great to hear what the real deal is from someone (ex-Navy SEAL) who would know first hand.

67 posted on 03/20/2005 8:18:58 AM PST by Screaming_Gerbil (Let's Roll...)
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To: Travis McGee

68 posted on 03/20/2005 8:20:20 AM PST by Eaker (stop and kick dirt on these n00bs actin like b00bs.......:o) - Squantos 18-Feb-05 -)
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To: Shooter 2.5
It's a fact about the inaccuracy

I don't doubt you now. I had not heard anything about it and never saw any data or info supporting it. My father is a raving mini-14 fan, I doubt he knows about it or has written it off.
69 posted on 03/20/2005 8:20:35 AM PST by Bear_Slayer (If you're gonna be a Knight act like a Knight.)
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To: SLB

Bump


70 posted on 03/20/2005 8:20:46 AM PST by Valin (DARE to be average!)
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To: Travis McGee

Tne ban on military calibers was brought up when we were discussing the new .45 GAP which Glock introduced. It sounds like a good solution in places like Italy and Mexico.

I think I'll stay in the good old U.S.A. There are still a couple of states I missed. Off the list and places I'm not considering are Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey and New York.


71 posted on 03/20/2005 8:22:53 AM PST by Shooter 2.5 (Vote a Straight Republican Ballot. Rid the country of dems.)
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To: Bear_Slayer

Ask him to bench it with a ten round group at one hundred yards. His first five should be ok but the rest may not be on the paper.


72 posted on 03/20/2005 8:26:57 AM PST by Shooter 2.5 (Vote a Straight Republican Ballot. Rid the country of dems.)
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To: Screaming_Gerbil
They are not that sophisticated. They could care less about bullet holes in the victim's sailboat. They would be in for raping, looting and murder, period. Grab the cash, Rolexes, binoculars, etc. They would not know what to do with a bank number, or have access to any way to loot an overseas bank account. Rape, loot, murder would be the only things on their minds. Being shot at from the boat was a total shock. The shotgun sound was mistaken for other "friendly" pirate shooting, until pirates fell down bleeding. That's my take.

And if it had been a Canadian, German, British or Aussie yacht, they would have had another great old night of rape and murder.

73 posted on 03/20/2005 8:30:07 AM PST by Travis McGee (----- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com -----)
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To: kstewskis

That expended brass has a funny way of showing up at embarrassing moments. It rolls into the tiniest little nooks and crannies.


74 posted on 03/20/2005 8:31:09 AM PST by Travis McGee (----- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com -----)
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To: Bear_Slayer

My mini, which is an older one, is very accurate out to 50 yds. I can't even see the target too well at 100 yds anyway. However, I am aware of the mini's reputation for poor accuracy, don't know if the reputation is in error or whether my rifle is an exception. It is still mounted on its original stock.


75 posted on 03/20/2005 8:31:54 AM PST by Sam Cree (Democrats are herd animals)
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To: Shooter 2.5

I have a mini-14 already, so I'd take it on a world cruise. Starting from scratch, I'd take an Enfield "shark gun" and a 12gauge pump "bird gun" for legal reasons.


76 posted on 03/20/2005 8:32:58 AM PST by Travis McGee (----- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com -----)
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To: Eaker

COOL! Thanks!


77 posted on 03/20/2005 8:34:09 AM PST by Travis McGee (----- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com -----)
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To: Bear_Slayer

For what it's worth, all of the Mini-14's I've shot have been completel junk. They are not accurate and they jam often.

Others will have different opinions. This is just what I have encountered with the Mini's I've shot.


78 posted on 03/20/2005 8:37:30 AM PST by t_skoz ("let me be who I am - let me kick out the jams!")
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To: Screaming_Gerbil
Travis was this kind of SEAL ...........



But he is still my buddy!

Looks like he needs to go clubbing!

79 posted on 03/20/2005 8:39:05 AM PST by Eaker (stop and kick dirt on these n00bs actin like b00bs.......:o) - Squantos 18-Feb-05 -)
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To: SLB
ARRRRRRGGGG!
80 posted on 03/20/2005 8:39:30 AM PST by Rakkasan1 (Keep drilling. Mother Nature will make more.)
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