My impromptu cruisers’ firearms survey
Yesterday, after I created a post on our Facebook page stating my belief that ships transiting pirate-infested waters would be better protected by an RPG than by the non-lethal devices listed in this article, several people started with the “I would cruise with a gun” dialogue that always seems to result any time boats and pirates are mentioned together. Confident that the vast majority of people who talk like this have never actually sailed outside of US waters, I created another post, a survey of sorts. What can I say, it was a dreary Sunday, and I had little else to occupy my time. 🙂
I wrote:
Inspired by my pirate/RPG thread, and some of the comments contained on it, I propose we do a fun little survey. For those of you who have sailed your boat OUTSIDE OF US WATERS, have you travelled with a firearm on board? If so, where to, and what was your experience (Were you able to keep them on board, Were they confiscated until you left the country, etc.)? Of course, if you did so illegally and didn’t declare your gun(s), I suspect you won’t be replying. If you haven’t travelled outside of US waters, I’m not really interested in your 2nd or 3rd hand information on the subject.
Now, 17 hours after creating that post, there is only one reply by someone reporting that he cruises with weapons, and I understand that the guns in question were, at least at one point, put into use defensively. Unfortunately, no details have yet been shared on the logistics of how to make traveling with these guns happen legally.
So, hoping to get some more replies to my survey, I’m sharing it here. If you have cruised with firearms on board your boat, please post the details. I’d really like to know. For the record, we are not anti-gun. We’re just practical when it comes to the problems that we perceive would be involved with traveling with firearms. If we’re wrong, let us know. Please, no 2nd or 3rd hand info, or google links. I only want to hear first hand reports. If you have friends who have done this, please direct them to this post so that they can respond themselves with the facts.
RELATED: Check out this article published on Noonsite in 2007 entitled Practical and Legal Implications of the Carriage of Firearms.
I did carry firearms back in the early 90’s . The only islands I visited during that time and declared them were, Antigua, St Thomas, Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos, and the Bahama’s. Antigua let me keep them on board, St Thomas also had no problem. Dominican Republic made me bring them to shore for their safe-keeping till I left. They made me wait long hours in the office both times. Turks and Caicos let me keep them on board, until an incident ashore prompted them to immediately board my vessel and confiscate them (but that’s a different story). The Bahamas also let me keep them on board. Those are the facts.
First hand facts… what this world needs more of.
By the way, your DR gun experience is not far off the typical customs run around. 🙂
In Turks and Caicos last year our friend had to leave his gun at customs and immigration…we were with him when he surrender it
Thank you.
Have never traveled with guns (Bermuda, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico) as we have felt it wasn’t necessary and didn’t want the hassle of responding to different rules in different countries. Sometimes I think the publicity of piracy events is overblown and the best advice is just to avoid areas that seem to have problems. You are probably more at risk on some US streets where people who feel that they need a gun for self-defense are the biggest safety problem.
Of course that’s true, Lynn. You’re more at risk driving your car during a metropolitan rush hour!
Sailed the west coast of Mexico and the baja for over a year in the 2010-2011 time frame. I am a gun owner on land, for hunting not protection, and have never felt the need and did not bring them the boat. The discussion while I was in mexico was Wasp and Hornet spray, nasty stuff.
I was also a gun owner, but sold all my firearms before departing Canada.
Wasp and Hornet spray…We call it Texas Mace. Much better deterrant than mace/ pepper spray aims better and shoots farther.
Carried a Ruger LCP in 380 with self defense rounds a couple years ago in FL. FL recognized my state’s concealed carry permit. Spent a lot of time sailing around the Everglades and was mostly concerned with critters that might want to eat my little dog.
This past winter sailing season I thought I might go to the Bahamas and didn’t have a gun on board. Did not think it was worth the hassle.
I’m unsure what I’ll do in the future. I’m more concerned about the weirdness around FL than down the islands.
If you’re going to be shooting an alligator you might want something bigger than a .380. 🙂
Local gator poachers kill them with .22s. All in knowing where to hit them.
Interesting.
I’ve been researching boats for cruising for awhile now. I’ve come across a couple of boats that have hidden compartments for gun storage if one was so inclined.
I feel like the design of a boat (older ones especially) would allow for you to hide a gun on board in a hidden compartment if you were so inclined. How readily accessible it would be in the event that you would need it is questionable though.
I can’t even begin to imagine the legal ramifications if you were to use it defensively in another country.
In all the reading I’ve done it doesn’t seem like a firearm isn’t really necessary for the most cruising areas. Seems like the areas the sketchy stuff goes down in is well known and should be easily avoided.
On a side note: I really need to do my proof reading BEFORE clicking submit. Facebook’s edit feature really has me spoiled.
You can hide anything on a boat but ease of access and secrecy are normally contradictory things. The question remains though, who would you be hiding the guns from? Customs agents, because you’ve failed to declare them, or burglars?
“I can’t even begin to imagine the legal ramifications if you were to use it defensively in another country.”
No kidding!!!
I never cruised with fire-arms on board. My cruising destinations were all in the Mediterranean or the European Atlantic coast where it’s warm.
The previous owner of the boat had firearms on board – he left as testament of a handgun-safe and a lockable long-arm drawer. Naive in matters of weapons, it took us a while to figure out what those were for. From what I gather, he carried a shotgun when cruising in the north as protection from bears, no information about the handguns. But that’s just second hand information.
Cruising with a firearm in the far north to deal with polar bears seems to be common, from what I have read.
We have cruised outside USA waters and experienced a visit from pirates. The following stories, whilst a fair read, give you some indication of the trouble even a little pea shooter can land you in as our friends on Avolare found out.
Having said that, when the Pirates eventually departed from our Spirit of Wychwood there was a period when I would have liked to have an RPG to give them a little farewell memory. However, I have little doubt that having one on board, or any other type of weapon for that matter, would not have helped us. Getting visitors during the evening often meant trading some T shirts for some crayfish (lobster?) and you don’t want to shoot the young fellows who deliver them. They came looking for guns and would no doubt have found them if we had any.
We may well have been dead soon after.
http://www.thecoastalpassage.com/gunsandbanbits.html
I hope that is a useful contribution to your survey.
Smooth sailing,
Bazza.
Quite the adventures! Not ones that I’d look forward to taking part in though.
We have cruised with firearms in our home state of Florida, where we have ccw permits.
I think the biggest problem with getting accurate info is whether or not everyone would admit breaking the law in a public forum.
The world can be a scary place.
We have been boarded and searched by Customs agents five times since leaving Canada. We have been boarded by pirates exactly zero times. You take your chances if you choose to cruise with guns illegally.
Example:
http://www.noonsite.com/Members/sue/R2010-05-05-2
Not a boat but…
https://news.vice.com/article/ex-marine-who-carried-loaded-guns-into-mexico-is-released
Not us!
I have thought about this for a while. I think that in some places where you might want one on board are the same places you have to turn them in so no point. I think that a simple flare gun would be enough of a deterrent and is totally legal. They can burn badly and set a small boat on fire. It also has the added benefit of attracting attention if there is anyone else around.
On the subject of flare guns for defense:
http://www.zerotocruising.com/flare-guns-for-defense/
And for the record, there are some places, Trinidad for example, where even they must be declared.
Can’t buy them in Australia. They’re illegal.
Interesting.
8 years sailing the Caribbean. 2.5 years RVing around the US. No gun. No problem.
I think a lot of it depends on your personality also. If you walk around treating everyone you meet like you are better then they are, you will find trouble eventually. If you walk around and treat everyone you meet with respect and a smile, it is unlikely that someone will seek you out to bother you. I think the truly random encounter is VERY unlikely.
I am with you Mike, I wouldn’t bother with the hassle of carrying a gun on board. That said, I would set up some motion detecting web cams on the boat that would alert me to trouble while I was sleeping.
Steve, if you’re suggesting that someone is going to lose their cool and shoot someone because they are angry, I certainly hope that they don’t have firearms! We’re working on the assumption that people are sane, although that may be stretching things, at least from what I’ve read on the internet.
As a dirt dwelling gun owner, I couldn’t imagine the hassle of keeping a shotgun or pistol rust free in a boating environment. Plus corrosion of ammo.
As an avid follower of you folks, knowing your martial arts and fitness levels, I feel sorry for the poor burglar that awakens Rebecca ….she’d go all Bruce Lee/ Denise Austin / why’d you wake me up crazy on them!
Mossberg has a shotgun with a “marine coat” finish. I wonder how that would last out here?
With regard to corrosion, there is a shotgun made specifically for use in the marine environment: Remington Model 870 Special Purpose Marine Magnum Pump-Action Shotgun.
You can search for it on the web for additional information.
I am policeman approaching retirement and daysail as much as I can. I carry a gun daily and plan to include firearms planning into cruising planning. If two places are equally desirable destinations, I rather go someplace nice with a weapon than a similar place without. I am pretty much done with places requiring guns for safety.
That being said, boats are small places and any violent encounter will be close and desperate, so a cutlass (sir, its for my pirate costume) would be ideal and extremely useful. The edge and point are lethal, and the flat and back can deliver a savage beating. And where on a boat would a two pound hand sledge look out of place. A fire axe is a legitimate item that can be duel purposed. (I have a small one from a requests kit)
Guns aren’t magic and regardless, you will always get better mirage out of never presenting yourself as an ideal/profitable victim. If you have to act, move aggressively and deliberately.
Hi Brian
Perhaps I’m misreading but the sentences in your first paragraph seem kinda contradictory.
I intend to only visit nice places. But nice places are just nicer when the rare bad person can be dealt with effectively. A weapon (or just plain unarmed orneriness ) can put you in the stronger position of walking safely away from trouble instead of the weaker position of running from trouble. (A dog will chase anything that runs).
So if its is a situation where I can take or leave a gun, I will likely go, and may or may not go armed. Its about the place and not the gun. However, the Horn of Africa or the coast of Venezuela would require serious defensive force planning, so I just wouldn’t go.
If you have to get out of the boat with a gun …
https://youtu.be/YbFvAaO9j8M
Never get out of the boat!
Shelly and I are gun owners now, but do not intend to bring them with us when we head into the Caribbean next spring. I’ve been involved in armed conflicts and with no metal to duck behind on a boat we are opting for non-lethal defenses. In the case of organized piracy (if we ever encounter it) we plan on full cooperation. I cannot protect my wife from someone on a rib firing into the fiberglass hull if we manage to take down the boarders. In the case of a single thief, I’m with the others… wasp spray or mace and he’s likely not to come back again.
Let’s hope you’re like the other 99.99% of cruisers and never find yourself in that situation.