Motion detectors at every hardware store about $20.

Just because many local people in the Caribbean are black it doesn't mean you need a gun.

You need a gun more in your own country than the Caribbean.

Yes, you can sail by yourself unless you are a compete idiot.

12 years is self imposed. Get off your fat bum and save more money now and retire in 5 years. I retired at 48 and it was the best decision I ever made.

 

Motion detectors at every hardware store about $20.

Just because many local people in the Caribbean are black it doesn't mean you need a gun.

You need a gun more in your own country than the Caribbean.

Yes, you can sail by yourself unless you are a compete idiot.

12 years is self imposed. Get off your fat bum and save more money now and retire in 5 years. I retired at 48 and it was the best decision I ever made.

Trying hard not to hear snippiness in your post.

Did I say anything about black people in my post? I don't think I did and actually when I picture someone sneaking on board I see a white male in his 30s for some reason.

I am not a paranoid type person but I am realistic. I carry my pistol all the time. You just never know. I am very careful, raised with guns.

I glad you were able to retire at 48. Even if I was able to retire right now I have family obligations I can't just up and abandon (my mother is 87 and needs me).

 

Many Caribbean countries don't allow guns and you could be charged with smuggling an illegal weapon into the country. I would think that a motion sensing system will be set off often by movement of the boat. You could use a trip wire to trigger an alarm if someone tries to climb your swim ladder or come over your life lines.

Lots of people travel there with little incident. Some travel in travel groups for safety.

There is Caribbean sailor's group that shares info on safe places and problem places. They communicate with one another to plan trips together or anchoring together for safety.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/341518759227037/

There is also a website where sailors share incidents of theft, vandalism and piracy to alert other sailors to problem areas.

http://www.noonsite.com/General/Piracy

 

There are literally hundreds of threads on the sailing sites on security aboard and I doubt there is one definitive answer, other than having any sort of firearm aboard a cruising boat is a very, very bad idea.
They sort of frown on visitors using firearms on their citizens, even if you think it was self defense, and you most certainly will go to prison.

 

Alert dog and sharp end of a lion fish spear...
Motion detectors do lights and also audio alarms.
I suggest not making this an over-riding concern.
If you aren't comfortable, just go somewhere else.
Would you leave your dinghy outboard out by the curb where you live now?

 

Joshua Slocum used tacks. :laugh Kids' jacks would be the equivalent.

Wondering where you'd staying the Caribbean, and if you'd sail north for the summer. I'd thought to sail north next summer then winter down south somewhere. Now I'm rethinking it--getting tired of the humidity in the southeast.

 

Of all the safety-related considerations that are related to sailboat cruising, those that are resolved with having multiple firearms aboard are the least likely to occur.

If you like to have guns nearby, be thankful that you live in the USA, and stay there.

 

... I plan on having my pistol with me and really more than one. I am not sure what the laws are about guns but am looking at that....

"Novice but Stubborn" under your user name. Please don't let stubbornness about firearms in foreign countries land you in jail. Chances are it will and all your research will be for nothing. Our over-excitement to be able to carry a firearm (let alone a small arsenal), does not extend outside our borders.

 

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess you haven't traveled much. Just the notion of being permitted to take a handgun through customs is a dead giveaway. If you feel you need a gun to protect yourself when traveling it's probably best you stay at home. You will likely end up in foreign jail.

There will always be someone stronger or more heavily armed, if one can't use one's brain to keep oneself out of trouble....

This is not a flame.

 

Don't rush it, use the 12 years to gain water experience any way you can, whether its the boat you cruise on or not sometimes just getting what you think you want helps develop the one you want for later. Im not sure my current is my last. If you know what I mean.

Get creative with self defense follow the advice given.

 

Thank you to the ones with the kind replies. I am a total novice and am in the planning stages. That is why I am asking questions. Of course I would check the laws of the countries I am near or visiting. I'm a paralegal. I know that stuff.

Some good advice about the motion detectors and such. That is what I plan on doing.

As for the ones who were rude, said for me to just stay home, etc., why do you have to be ugly? If you can't give helpful advice then I suggest you stay off a message board.

 

Traveling with a dog, outside of the US can be a hassle. The Bahamas and British Virgin Islands, and other countries, require a pet import permit which includes an APHIS health certificate and a rabies titer blood test (It requires blood to be drawn and sent to one of the certified testing centers). Even the US Virgin Islands requires a certified health certificate and a 6 month current rabies vaccination. My state only requires a rabies vaccination every two years, so the USVI has more restrictive requirements.

So, if you want to travel with a gun or a dog, it is easier to confine your cruising to the continental United States.

 

Traveling with a dog, outside of the US can be a hassle. The Bahamas and British Virgin Islands, and other countries, require a pet import permit which includes an APHIS health certificate and a rabies titer blood test (It requires blood to be drawn and sent to one of the certified testing centers). Even the US Virgin Islands requires a certified health certificate and a 6 month current rabies vaccination. My state only requires a rabies vaccination every two years, so the USVI has more restrictive requirements.

So, if you want to travel with a gun or a dog, it is easier to confine your cruising to the continental United States.

I will be sailing with at least one dog. Can't imagine my life without one. But I can meet the requirements. My dogs are always up to date on shots and living in the south we do heartworm prevention year round already anyway.

Its funny what to some may seem a hassle but to others is no big deal. But thanks for the heads up. It is something I will be researching.

 

just sharing my opinion for what it's worth....

I served 6 years in armed forces and members of my family belong to the NRA. I just don't see any scenario in where having a firearm on board a vessel in another Country ends successfully. If the intruder possesses a firearm, he has already made the decision to use it due to desperation. Unless you can disarm him with a single shot on a rocking boat, expect to see plenty of return fire. If the intruder is not in possession of a firearm there are many more safer, persuasive means of getting them off your boat other than brandishing a firearm in a foreign Country. You'll find many great counter tactics on this forum during your research.

Safe travels -

 

Just go cruising in the Caribbean like everyone else.


What makes you need to look like Rambo when no one else does or needs to?

Reality is the price of rum, not anything else.


Mark

 

Just go cruising in the Caribbean like everyone else.

What makes you need to look like Rambo when no one else does or needs to?

Reality is the price of rum, not anything else.

Mark

Ha. Its not like I am going to be sitting in the cockpit with a machine gun. If it is a big deal and a huge hassle or just downright illegal I won't have a gun. If I am allowed most likely it would be kept in a drawer or box somewhere below deck.

 

Man ... a lot of people getting snippy about the question.

The fact is that carrying a firearm on a boat these days is complicated and difficult. Laws change each time you change ports. As a foreigner, if you ever _use_ the weapon you're going to have a lot of trouble with the local authorities.

But there is a _really_ good reason _not_ to have a gun on board when you cruise. And I've heard this repeated over and over again by many, many experienced cruisers: 99.99% of the people who would board your boat with malicious intent can be scared off with a spotlight. Stories of people being shot because they came out of their cabin brandishing a gun and caused panic in the boarders are frequent. Stories of cruisers keeping watch in the cockpit in sketchy anchorages and the simple act of them shining a spotlight was enough to scare away suspicious persons are numerous. Stories of people spending totally safe, uneventful nights in anchorages are so frequently it would be impossible to count them.

Stories of anyone protecting themselves with a gun while on a sailboat are non-existent. I've never heard a single one. If you know of any stories of this tactic being useful in the last 20 years, I'd be interested to hear it.

So, the reason for not carrying a gun is simple statistics: The chances of you needing it are near zero. The chances that attempting to use it will make the situation worse are small, but existent. And the chances that it will actually protect you are so small that there are no recorded incidences of it. Add to that the likelihood that it will prevent you from entering certain harbors, and make entry complicated in many more ... well, it just doesn't seem practical.

An experienced captain explained his theory on why this is the case: Cruisers bring money to the local economy, so those economies have a vested interest in keeping cruisers coming in; and cruisers talk, so incidents of theft and violence spread and reduce money coming in to the local economy. This alone isn't enough to completely _stop_ crime in these areas, but criminals have learned that there are LOTS of boats to steal from. They want the easy, low-risk take. So any indication that the boat is keeping a watch, or that there will be any resistance and they just move on ... eventually they'll find a careless boater to steal from with no worries. They know that there's lots on deck they can steal without making enough noise to wake anyone, so they almost never go below decks. They know that cruisers have insurance, so a stolen MFD is likely to create a police report that the police don't have time to follow up on, and an insurance claim. But they know that if they go below decks, and if someone gets hurt, then the local police will have the motivation to track them down, as a story spreading about an assault will cause cruisers to stop spending money at their anchorage. Just a few stolen MFDs a week makes pretty good money on the black market, so they aren't terribly desperate to take any risks.

It _is_ unintuitive. At least it was to me. But the facts support the conclusion that carrying a guy while cruising just isn't worth it.

But, of course, you've brought one of the more controversial topics to this forum, so you're going to get heated answers. The fact that you're surprised by that is somewhat funny to me. You might as well start a pro-life vs. pro-choice debate -- it would be equally ponderous to me if you were surprised by the heated responses you got.

 

Man ... a lot of people getting snippy about the question.

But, of course, you've brought one of the more controversial topics to this forum, so you're going to get heated answers. The fact that you're surprised by that is somewhat funny to me. You might as well start a pro-life vs. pro-choice debate -- it would be equally ponderous to me if you were surprised by the heated responses you got.

That's true, much of the rest of the world does not share our American frontier penchant for everybody being able to carry a loaded firearm around in our glove compartment or into Starbucks.

 

i believe you will find travelling with weaponry a hassle--even worse than the dog.
i travel mexico sola with only a cat for protection--hahahahaha donot need to lock doors and donot need to worry about my personal safety.
caribbean was same.
if you are not comfortable in your own skin, stay home until you are so., is important.
if you cannot trust folks enough to mix with em, stay home.
if you feel the |NEED to carry a weapon, stay home.
once you get out into the cruising lifstyle, if that is actually what you willbe doing, you will learn much much more than you could imagine.
if you donot make it out here, it will not matter. there is much to learn that is not learnable without wandering out into reality.

 

Again, I am new to this. Never sailed. Never been to the Caribbean so I don't know how people act. I am basing my questions on what I am familiar with. But I thank you and the others for letting me know it really is safe and I won't need to worry about a gun. Plus if it is as big a hassle as everyone says then I won't bother with the gun.

 

carryi9ng weaponry into many nations is prison sentence. not a great idea. not all nations are usa. does not make you an idiot, just a curious human for asking before leaving, unlike those finding selves in prison for just that issue.
dog--hell i bring cats with me. is not a big deal-- is hoops through which to jump is all, and difficult in some locales. preplanning works.
sailing alone--just donot stand to pee over side without your tether being short enough to prevent your falling overboard.
make your cockpit comfy for passages and have a great time.

 

jj-
Unless you want to spend a lot of time making lists of places you can't go, forget the firearms and the dog. Or any pets. Guns, especially pistols, are getting banned in more and more places every year, and what you learn now may well change next year. Same thing with animals really. Quarantines can be casual (Yah mon, just keep it on de boat, wink wink) or if you find that you're forced to detour for storm damage...Now it is 90 days in a quarantine kennel at five-star resort prices.
Guns, even flare guns, can be kept in bonded storage onboard, sometimes, along with precisely counted rounds of ammunition. At other times, you need to check them in--and may find they've been mysteriously used and not cleaned when you go to check them out. (As per a published article by a respected author a few years ago.)
There are MANY options that a web search or a visit to some alarm suppliers, including RV suppliers, can turn up for you. Heat sensors (IR), motion sensors (ultrasonic), webcams that optically detect motion and intruders, pressure mats for the floor, capacitive touch sensors that can tell when someone touches your stanchions or lifelines...there are a lot of uncommon but conventional security sensors that will be legal anywhere.

Add a "GDMF Loud Alarm" and strobes, manually triggered, to your mast, and the intruder will probably begone before you can pick up a radio to call for help.

Similarly, some forum members have taken the incredibly sensible approach of using a heavy grating to block off the companionway, instead of leaving it open. For that matter, I suppose a steel or aluminum boat (both can be problems in the tropics) would also be a high-security option.

And there are "weapons" ranging from a spray bottle with fresh ammonia, to an extra fire extinguisher, that are all conventional and legal--but they'll stock an attacker long enough for you to take firmer action.
And really, any martial arts studio should be able to teach you the basics of self defense. There are a number of lethal blows that require very little skill or confrontation. For that matter, even the NRA hosts regular "Don't Be A Victim" classes in UNarmed self defense, especially for women.

Why look for problems, like regulated guns, when there are so many other options that can do the job for you? Including, of course "Just don't go there." If someplace is on the State Department's warning list? Go elsewhere.

 

Mid-
If folks were required to read the state and federal constitutions, and pass a reading comprehension test, before they were allowed to vote, would they get upset? Same same with firearms laws, even though most US citizens have no idea that both state and federal militia service is largely compulsory, and a condition of citizenship.

These are the same folks who were polled by some Harvard researchers around 1969. They were read a section of the Constitution and asked "What is this from?" and IIRC the leading answer was "Das Capital" (Karl Marx.)

My pistol will never fall out of my pocket, I keep it safely in my sporran.(G)

 

Funny I have a CC but hardly ever carry.... I don't lock my cars, house etc.... I live in the city...right now my keys are in my car out in the driveway...

Having a gun onboard is the last thing I would want/need...

so you are sleeping and someone breaks in, I guess it's happened, so grab your glock 17 and shoot him all that noise now the boat that has his friends come onboard with ak47's well at least you got 1 of them before you are a lead dumpster...

same thing this time you are unarmed hey what are you doing here? give me what you got old man. go ahead and take my rum just leave me a little to drink to calm me down after you leave. OK man sounds fair have a good night

lol somewhat silly but in reality not really....

if you are in the v-berth you are pretty much a sitting duck, nowhere to go....

I drove truck for a lot of years, people texting killed so many people way more than the drunks by the way. Driving at night that high up I would say 80-90% of the drivers are playing with their phones.... Roads are way more likely to get you killed than some bandit!!!!

Bob

 

I was thinking this thread might be about keeping on the boat while you singlehand, how to manage night/day watches alone, being able to do things using 3:1 purchase even if you don't have upper body strength. I seriously wasn't expecting it to be about needing to shoot it out with someone. I haven't read the posts, but have spent quite a bit of time on many of the Caribbean Islands, and I can tell ya, you're much safer there than many places in the US.

Do bad things happen to good people; yeah, no doubt, but overall, your fear is mostly misplaced. I live in Oakland, on a boat with homeless in abundance, a pot dispensary across the street, and lots of crime, but it was at my previous marina in San Francisco where I had to step around a dead body to get to my gate, had multiple broken windows in my car, and had to duck whenSF PD tried to shoot someone in pursuit who had stolen their police van. I think once you get out there you'll see the world is not such a scary place, even as a single woman. Just talk to any young European woman. They often spend their gap years traipsing all over the world by themselves. I think much of our fear is a cultural dogma that nearly paralyzes most Americans from travel except for "all inclusive" resorts. Shame, really...

[Post Script - I see you're from the South. I was raised there, too (and I'm a single female), but my mom was from France and dad was from Texas so I can relate to the fear, but not to the reality. I suggest you get out there a bit before you worry too much about it at this stage.]

 

I have never even thought a moment about personal safety on my boat now going on 32 years... in NE, Caribean and even Spain.... The only theft I had was at the boat yard in Greenport during winter storage and someone stole my reefing lines!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dink was stolen in RI... that's it.

I see no need to lock the boat.... it's on a mooring... or anchor.

Can't speak for marinas... don't stay there and would never...

I do lock the dink at the town dock..

Safety is more about capability to deal with the loads, the navigation, weather and the other idiots boaters out there... just as on the road. Wifey is from the Bronx and very suspect and paranoid.

 

It did occur to me after this thread dragged on a bit, that my greatest safety concerns are the weather and falling asleep during watch at night. While there are certainly humans that pose threat, none of them scare me as much as the possibility that I'll accidentally get myself into a nasty storm that's more than I can handle.

 

Since your departure is so far off..What are you going to do in the meantime to develop the skills necessary to cruise?

Think you should go out a buy a small caltalina, 22 with a pop top. Plenty of places for you to gunkhole around in. Bring your dogs, guns and lots of beer. Plenty of spots for you to get far away. Maybe some good duck hunting and bass fishing where nobody else gets to go....

Think you could get a nice little boat for the cost of a good Sig Sauer P226..

 

I am a US citizen. I hunt and shoot at the range when home. I spend 8 months a year cruising. The guns stay home in a safe or with shooting friends.
There are innumerable spaces on a sailboat to hide valuables. There is nothing on my decks. My dinghy is not marked T/T "anything " so no one can look at a dinghy dock and know I'm off the boat.
Pragmatic fears cruising alone ( have done this for months on end when wife is back in the States).
Getting hurt or sick. Who takes care of the boat?. If acute illness or injury how do you get help?
Having dinghy stolen while you're on the boat. How do you get back to land to deal with it?
Need repair or to go up the mast requiring two people. Who do you use?
Solutions-
Get the best locking system for your dinghy you can. It's this theft that's the major concern. Raise your dinghy before sleep.
Join a cruising group like OCC or Salty Dawgs. You'll have a friend in every harbor.
Get active on the ssb and vhf cruising nets. Make friends and help others. It's fun and increases your security if things go wrong.
Use common sense. I like getting truly off the grid and on anchor. I'll find folks to buddy boat with so I can do this safely by myself. I pay attention to noonsite and what other cruisers tell me. There are so many beautiful places there is no reason to expose yourself to high crime places or islands.
Lastly fall in love. It improves your life😁

 

My question is though is there any kind of security system for sailboats to let you know if someone came onboard while you were asleep. I got to thinking if nothing else I could rig up a motion detector in the companionway which would be pretty simple.

Since you plan to keep a dog on board, that would work very well as an intruder alert. I would trust it more than any kind of electronic motion detector on a constantly moving boat.
I sense that you like to have a weapon handy so that you can even out the odds between you and a potential attacker. I can definitely relate to that. I have raised 2 daughters and taught them how to defend themselves using guns and other weapons. As others have mentioned, having firearms outside US is a major hassle. But there are other things that can be used as a weapon, like proper flare guns, spear fishing gear, knives, bows, and so on. You do not need to feel defenseless when you are on a boat.
And yet, in the grand scheme of things, the most dangerous things you will face as a solo sailor will not come from other folks being up to no good. Bad weather, navigation hazards, lack of sleep, gear malfunctions, errors in judgement, falling overboard - are far more likely to kill you than other people. So go sailing and start developing survival skills as soon as possible, because it takes time to get comfortable and be able to handle what the reality throws at you. Don't get discouraged, it's a great plan.