Pirates Aboard!: Forty Cases of Piracy Today and What Bluewater Cruisers Can Do About It - Softcover

Hympendahl, Klaus

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1574092308 ISBN 13: 9781574092301

Publisher: Sheridan House, 2006

Synopsis

In 1895, Joshua Slocum, the first man to sail alone around the world, scattered thumbtacks on the sole of Spray to repel an attack by intruders on Tierra del Fuego. In December 2001, an attack on Sir Peter Blake s yacht in Brazil resulted in his death. Pirates Aboard! deals with recent cases of piracy studied by author Klaus Hympendahl, who interviewed the victims of about 40 cases. He asks them what lessons they learned from their hostile encounter and what they would suggest others do differently to avoid (or just survive) similar incidents. He then gives an appraisal of which areas in the world are the most dangerous, including Somalia, the Gulf of Aden, Venezuela, Guatemala, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and parts of Brazil. This invaluable document suggests what preventive measures sailors can take and advises how they should deal with stress, aggression, and fear when faced with a confrontation.

About this title

About the Author:

Klaus Hympendahl is a German author and sailor. The former owner of an advertising agency, he has completed a five-year circumnavigation. His novel about the Apollonia case, concerning the disappearance of two sailors on a transatlantic race, won him the 2001 German award for best sailing book of the year.

Review:

Think of pirates and movies and acting or ancient times comes readily to mind; but truth is, piracy is alive and well on the high seas today and even can be a threat to modern sailors. That's why Pirates Aboard! 40 Cases of Piracy Today and What Bluewater Cruisers Can Do About It is a key to sailing safety. The author interviewed the victims of over 40 cases, asking them what lessons they learned and how they'd avoid or survive similar encounters: their responses offer invaluable lessons for any braving the high seas today. (Midwest Book Review)

The romanticized image that tales of pirates on the high seas evoke becomes decidedly more somber as author Klaus Hympendahl addresses the reality of piracy in the modern world and the preventive measures that bluewater cruisers can take to ensure safe passage. A compilation of 40 individual accounts, Pirates Aboard documents piracy in popular as well as less-traveled areas, including Venezuela, the Caribbean, Europe, and Yemen. Narratives and excerpts from letters give the reader a firsthand feel for the nightmarish experience of having strangers forcibly board your vessel. These chronicles are not meant to instill fear; rather, they show the causes of piracy the poverty and political unrest in many countries that lead to looting. Advice from survivors as well as general precautionary tips are offered for example, installing an alarm system, sailing in a convoy, running without lights in dangerous areas, and obtaining a ham radio license. Pirates Aboard is gripping, a must-read for cruisers who set sail and seek safe anchorage in the exotic waters of the world. (Sail Magazine)

The author reports on 40 cruising-boat incidents worldwide and, when possible, interviews victims with questions that begged answers of supreme importance to voyagers. Attack analyses offer solutions to real problems on the world's cruising grounds. This volume is well-written, forceful, and hard to put down not surprising, coming from the pen of a sailor, author, and former ad-agency executive. (Cruising World)

About this edition

• Publisher: Sheridan House
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1574092308
• ISBN 13: 9781574092301
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256