When Rapscallion’s charter guests finally arrived—hours behind schedule for a trip to Bimini—Capt. Larry Withall and his mate, Jason “Tiny” Walcott, disembarked from their slip in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for a quick trip to the Bahamas in 1995. The two men chatted with Withall on the way out, asking various questions about the 65-foot Hatteras, seemingly interested in general safety procedures. They even asked what the crew would do in the case of piracy. Hours later, under a pitch-black sky, the guests suddenly stripped their friendly facades and brandished firearms. With a machine gun held to their heads, the Rapscallion crew realized that pirates were already on board.
When I think of pirates, I envision the likes of Capt. Jack Sparrow and other similar Hollywood characters. Fortunately, I’ve never had to contend with, or even consider, the threat of piracy at sea. However, after researching this article and speaking with seasoned captains who have experienced such incidents, my perspective has changed. While it might seem like a relic of a rum-drenched past, piracy is still a potential threat for sport-fishing crews and remains something to be prepared for today.
MODERN-DAY PIRACY
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea’s abbreviated definition of “piracy” is “any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft, and directed on the high seas, against another ship or aircraft, or against persons or property on board such ship or aircraft.” While that’s a lot of jargon, it can all be distilled simply to attacking or robbing ships at sea.
The International Maritime Bureau,