Firearm aboard- is it Difficult? Limiting?

[Madehn]

i appreciate all of the responses to my original post. someone asked if we had a gun on board and used it what would have happened-- short answer is all types of bad things because firearms are heavily restricted in Panama-i am sure that we would have been arrested and imprisoned-----we would not have been able to visit that country with a firearm on board. as for whether i would use a firearm in self defense- reluctantly but without hesitation. i have very reluctantly decided to have a firearm on board and accept that there are some places we won't be able to go. i respect countries that do not want anyone bringing arms through their borders- if i decide to go there i will toss the firearm overboard before entering their waters. Hopefully the firearm will be like the third high capacity bilge pump that i have aboard ( good for peace of mind, occasionally exercised, but never truly needed).

[Madehn]

one last thing- MANY thanks to the moderators who kept this discussion on track and enabled me to get some benefits from others views and experiences. Great work and thanks again!!!

[Breaking Waves]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

It appears you don’t know any of the details, yet you post as if you know things.

Peter Blake used a pistol, not a rifle. .....

hmmmm . . . . . every report I can find says he had a rifle. And that is my memory on the reporting from the incident at the time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Blake_(sailor) "Blake sprang from the cabin wielding a rifle."

https://www.latitude38.com/features/Blake.htm "Sir Peter Blake rushed below to fetch a rifle and returned up the companionway"

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/fugiti...XZMHXR2TFOIYY/ "Blake was fatally shot in the back by one of the assailants after a rifle he had used to defend himself "

and on and on.

[chris in SG]

Nevertheless, I should have researched the circumstances before posting about Peter Blake. Contrary to my speculation, he did 'shoot first'. According to wikipedia:

"As one of the robbers held a gun to the head of a crewmember, Blake sprang from the cabin wielding a rifle. He shot one of the assailants in the hand before the rifle malfunctioned; he was then fatally shot in the back by assailant Ricardo Colares Tavares. The boarders injured two other crew members with knives, and the remaining seven were unhurt".


The tragedy does highlight the risks involved in being proactive.

[mako]

Originally Posted by Madehn

… i was aboard a boat that was boarded by armed robbers while at anchor in the middle of the night - we fought them off thru luck and some skill.

OP where did this incident happen?

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

It appears you don’t know any of the details, yet you post as if you know things.
Peter Blake used a pistol, not a rifle. ...
... Also, the reason Blake died is that his pistol jammed after the first shot. ...

FWIW:
All of the [numerous] accounts*, I’ve read, specify that Blake used a (.308?) ‘rifle’ [1], not a pistol, during the attack on “Seamaster” [& crew].

Three of the ‘water rats’ [Ratos de agua] had pistols: Ricardo Tavares, José Irandir Cardoso, and Isael da Costa.

* 1. ➥ https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/random...IGFKGOJ2MUNU4/
* 2. ➥ https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoo...nowhere-place/

[1] Evidently, there were two rifles on the Seamaster, which were kept in a locked cupboard, in Sir Peter's cabin.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Jammer

I think you'll find that federal law does not have a residency requirement except for pistol purchases. State restrictions vary from state to state. California, notably, has a residency requirement; Illinois, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, American Samoa, Guam, DC, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, USVI, and the New York City (but not the rest of the state) have various additional permitting requirements that are tantamount to a residency requirement in many cases.

Some states also have broad assault weapons bans that may cover some of the stainless steel pump shotguns often recommended for marine use.

I believe you have to establish residency in Georgia to be eligible for those.

Ah yes, my study was for Florida. And no, anybody is allowed to buy a Georgia hunting permit and go hunt there. The lifetime permits come and go and vary every time. There were no restrictions on residency when I bought ours.

About the Peter Blake shooting: my memory may be flawed but I have this book describing the piracy cases aboard yachts, based on local law enforcement reports and am pretty sure it says pistol… I will have to check. That said, this can be lost in translation as I believe this was in the Amazon delta, so Brazil and I guess reports were in Portuguese.

[Breaking Waves]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

About the Peter Blake shooting: my memory may be flawed but I have this book describing the piracy cases aboard yachts, based on local law enforcement reports and am pretty sure it says pistol…

He very specifically had a pair of .308 rifles, which he had gotten for a previous Arctic cruise (for polar bear protection).

[Madehn]

OP here. The missing incident to place I Panama. Puerto Bella (not sure I spelled that properly) I will never return there). Ever. Ever authorities treated us like we were criminals Shame as I was really looking forward to San blas islands. American embassy described their justice system outside of Panama City and maybe Colon as a compete sh#%show.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Ah yes, my study was for Florida. And no, anybody is allowed to buy a Georgia hunting permit and go hunt there. The lifetime permits come and go and vary every time. There were no restrictions on residency when I bought ours.

About the Peter Blake shooting: my memory may be flawed but I have this book describing the piracy cases aboard yachts, based on local law enforcement reports and am pretty sure it says pistol… I will have to check. That said, this can be lost in translation as I believe this was in the Amazon delta, so Brazil and I guess reports were in Portuguese.

https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/na...er-speaks-out/

Blake was fatally shot in the back by one of the assailants after a rifle he had used to defend himself and his crew malfunctioned.

The attackers fled with an outboard motor and some watches after injuring two other crew members with knives.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ke-Brazil.html

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by boatman61

https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/na...er-speaks-out/

Blake was fatally shot in the back by one of the assailants after a rifle he had used to defend himself and his crew malfunctioned.

The attackers fled with an outboard motor and some watches after injuring two other crew members with knives.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ke-Brazil.html

Must have been in some brain cells that didn’t make it through happy hour

I was on the boat and did look for the book but didn’t find it yet. I hope I didn’t leave it in a book exchange…

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Must have been in some brain cells that didn’t make it through happy hour

I was on the boat and did look for the book but didn’t find it yet. I hope I didn’t leave it in a book exchange…

I did not find what he was shot with.. even in the killers comments there was no mention of the weapon he used, just that "things did not go as planned".
Did find some conspiracy theories online and in a flim which claims he was targeted by people opposed to his project and concerned by his 'exposure' of various illegal enterprises like gold mining, deforestation etc..

[MauroM]

I followed almost exactly the same path, from plans to get an ss Mariner to giving up on the idea totally. Too may other higher priority concerns. Squeaky clean worked for me.

[PippaB]

Lots of mention of Blake, but no thread on this subject would be complete without also the story of Per (Peter) Tangvald.

It was in the '70s (early 80s?), so predates the internet, but Tangvald was an inveterate cruiser and circumnavigator. When sailing someplace between the Philippines and Brunei with his family their boat was boarded by pirates. With Peter and his three-year-old son in the cockpit, his wife Lydia went below ostensibly to retrieve goods for the pirates. Instead she popped up the forehatch with the gun they had aboard, and was promptly dispatched by the pirates. Peter credited his survival to the three-year-old child clinging to his leg.

So, these tales are not new, and I think I have heard more with this ending than successful defense stories.

(Peter lost two wives at sea, the other went overboard. He and his daughter died when their boat piled up on Bonaire, and the son clinging to his leg disappeared at sea on his own boat - certainly not the tale of a wonderful cruising career).

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Must have been in some brain cells that didn’t make it through happy hour

I was on the boat and did look for the book but didn’t find it yet. I hope I didn’t leave it in a book exchange…

I have a copy around here somewhere and can dig it out.