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

by Klaus Hympendahl

Overview

German sailor and novelist Hympendahl describes examples of attacks on pleasure cruise boats, not commercial vessels. Most of the pirates, he says, are loners, often fisherman or small and loose-knit gangs along the coast who are driven by poverty and desperation to share a few moveable goods of wealthy westerners who are vacationing where they struggle to survive. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781574092301
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	04/01/2006
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

Editorial Reviews

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

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.

nnn Cruising World

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