Snake on a boat

[doug cusick]

While pulling up the anchor in a patch of sea grass one evening,(here in Fiji) my wife started jumping around on deck and screaming. I was in the cockpit starting the engine etc. Thinking her behavior was a bit weird I went forward to find a dozen baby black and white sea snakes all over the deck. You know the ones, if you get bit you got 3 minutes to review your life before it's over!

[Dooglas]

Most snakes can swim so "how" they get on your boat is likely not the most puzzling part. Reminds me of the Peter Ustinov production of "Death on the Nile". To quote the steward - "Oh golly, oh cripes, a snake in a First Class Cabin!".

[aclmck]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

There are no poisonous snakes, just venomous (you can drink venom unharmed)
Problem is snakes often put in in you muscle or your mouth,anyway I wouldn’t want to drink drink venom to find out!
There are no bad snakes… even the venomous snakes are good snakes

Until you accidentally corner them and they bite ( some snakes get viscous and strike out when you surprise them normally,but the problem is your usually surprised too) most places have anti venom for venomous snakes in their area if you can get to them quickly enough.

Some of the Aussie snakes are so quick that most people couldn’t out run them if they came for you and you can’t take your eye off them even for a second or you will never find them again.

We get lots of snake bites here but very few deaths.

[capnjack.morton]

You guys are all missing the boat here, so to speak. The snake aboard is probably why there are no mice, rats, etc. Every boat should have one or two. Decline applications from the venomous ones.

[sailduggar]

About 20 years ago we were in Club Nautico in Cartagena and someone came on the morning net to inquire if anyone knew how to rid a boat of a large snake without hurting the snake. Later we were told that all of the marinas have palapas (open structures with palm leaves thatched roofs) and keep large snakes in the roof to keep down the mice. Mice are warm and fuzzy, but snakes are not. Go figure which you prefer.

[billgewater]

A real pain in the asp.

[Phyrcooler]

Just NOPE! Grew up in east Texas. Lots of creeks, swamps and waaay to many snakes. Timber rattlers, Copper Heads, Coral Snakes, and of course Water Moccasins. I’ve personally found those dang things in all kinds of scary places, including in low branches in waterous areas. I have no doubt of their ability to negotiate dock lines, or climb up sugar scoop steps onto a boat - IF it interested them. That said, I think I’ve had the crap scared out of me more times by the frigging rat snakes. Black and fairly large like Water Moccasins, they are fast and I’ve found them aggressive despite claims that they aren’t. But maybe I was just in their way?!

[OutOfControl]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

A venomous snake wrapped around your wife's leg might not belong in the "good" category .

That would of course depend on whether or not you have insurance on her and it's up to date.

[jipcho]

I sail mostly in the tropics, where we encounter "banded kraits" aka sea snakes often enough. Though their bite contains one of the strongest venom types of any snake, but their mouths are small, and the teeth far in the back. They are only a danger if you get your finger way back inside. Also, in the water, they are fairly timid. I have even handled them in the water, by holding them at the neck and allowing them to curl around my arm while scuba diving.

However, I have heard that on land or on a boat (In some places where they're abundant, you might find that one has boarded your dinghy while ashore.) they are dangerous, because they are out of their natural element, and hence more aggressive!

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

A venomous snake wrapped around your wife's leg might not belong in the "good" category .

They never do that. We give them their space and they do the same for us. A snake will never come up your leg unless it is for stealing your food or escaping something.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

They never do that. We give them their space and they do the same for us. A snake will never come up your leg unless it is for stealing your food or escaping something.

My real world example shows that this is not always true.

[rolandcavanagh]

Brown watersnake crawled up the lazarette coping drain in Chesapeake, VA, probably would have died here if I hadn’t come to do some work. Dinghied back to the boat while anchored in Fairlee Creek off the Chesapeake Bay to find a large garter snake slithering up onto the swim platform and woulda been aboard because we’d left the tuna door open.

[Tetepare]

As a young environmentalist I brought all manner of animals aboard my parents boat. Figures, it was the snakes that escaped below deck. Took a week to catch them all. Afterwards mother banned snakes onboard.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

My real world example shows that this is not always true.

The chair in the river? I’m sure it was either a predator in the water that it tried to escape or the wife was eating something the snake fancied. One thing is sure: the snake was not attacking

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

They never do that. We give them their space and they do the same for us. A snake will never come up your leg unless it is for stealing your food or escaping something.

Behavior varies widely by species.