Hostile acts against cruisers underway in the Caribbean

[dannc]

Originally Posted by captivacapt

Forgot to add to my post about Bear Spray. (policeman died from it at the Capital) There is an insert in to the Orion flare gun that accepts
357 cal.bullet (and other cals). Only one shot at a time. Remember ammunition is also illegal if not declared. Hide both well.

The officer was sprayed with bear spray but nothing has been said on what killed him. At first it was said he was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher. Now the guess is Pepper spray. They apparently do NOT know what killed him, which is odd at this late time.

Pepper spray should not kill a healthy person. Bear spray just has a higher concentration of Capsaicin compared to human personal defense spray. The higher the concentration the longer the burn but the burn is the same.

Defense sprays have their uses but they have some serious limitations. They are also illegal in many countries.

Later,
Dan

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by dannc

The officer was sprayed with bear spray but nothing has been said on what killed him. At first it was said he was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher. Now the guess is Pepper spray. They apparently do NOT know what killed him, which is odd at this late time.

Pepper spray should not kill a healthy person. Bear spray just has a higher concentration of Capsaicin compared to human personal defense spray. The higher the concentration the longer the burn but the burn is the same.

Defense sprays have their uses but they have some serious limitations. They are also illegal in many countries.

Later,
Dan

One important limitation is that if there's even a little breeze you really can't use it on anyone upwind of you without getting a significant dose yourself. Ask me how I know

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Pete the Cat

OK. Here is a true story: I was 80 miles out in the middle of the Gulf of Tehuanepec crossing (in flat calm!) under power. In the distance horizon behind us, we saw a panga running at high speed (do these guys ever go at any other speed?) toward us. I will admit I was frightened and went an got my flare gun and loaded it. They came speeding by us yelling something I could not understand (I speak some Spanish, but the noise was drowning him out) the guys circled back. I told my friend that they might be just scoping us out and that the next pass might be with weapons. Had I had a gun, I probably would have locked and loaded at this point. The panga came around again and slowed this time and the guys started yelling "Comida, comida". Oh, FOOD, the guys would like some food--OK they are fishing guys a long way from home in an area where you have to pick your weather very carefully even in a fast boat. I went down below and gathered some cookies and a bag of chips and tossed it to them. They took off in another circle and made another slow pass --this time they tossed a gorgeous fresh mahi mahi in our boat before jetting off into the horizon. I think you need to stay away from places of known danger (the reef off Honduras is one I avoid) but folks who think that carrying a weapon is a good idea have watched too many movies. You can imagine all the things that could have gone wrong here for everyone involved and there are stories that it has happened at the hands of trigger happy cruisers. Put yourself in this story and think about it.

Yes, its not uncommon for fishermen to approach to sell or barter. Could easily turn into an unfortunate encounter...

Fortunately my experiences have all been positive too.