Big waves and Pirates...oh my!

When we talk to people about what we are doing, quite often the first question is, "What about Pirates?" and the second question is always "Are you worried about big waves?".  Yes, they are both out there.  But we we are not on a crab boat in the Bering Sea during the winter.  We also won't be cruising off the shores of unstable, dangerous countries known for their pirates. Our goal is to pick our weather windows and locations carefully when cruising.

The right ocean during the right time of year is what we are going to cruise in.  We will encounter weather, it is everywhere after all.  But with the use of pilot charts, which are charts based upon statistical data derived over several centuries, we can use that data to pick when we will cruise. The charts show the prevailing winds, number of gales and other useful data.  There are several electronic forecasting tools that we can use via our Iridium GO and we have the old school SSB (HF radio) to download current data as well.

As far as pirates are concerned...we plan on avoiding areas of known piracy.  The obvious locations are Somalia and the Horn of Africa.  Nigeria is a hot spot right now too and there are areas around Venezuela that are experiencing mostly petty theft.  We have taken means to protect ourselves and will keep that a secret.  The best way not to get attacked by pirates, is to avoid areas with pirates.  I like to remind people that one can get into trouble in downtown Seattle, Tacoma or anywhere in the United States.


So, while there are pirates and big waves out there....we plan to avoid both!