Pleasure boat carrying guns seized in New York Harbor

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-nj--boatseized0829aug29,0,4934923.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire ^

[bvw]

It's been many years since I used to hang around with people who cruised the blue water under sails and such -- the Jimmy Buffett life style. Still -- I know that conditions in Colombia and Mexico and such have gooten more violent, so would expect the Caribbean to be as well.

[4woodenboats]

I disagree, completely. There is no logical or rational reason for those weapons to be on board. I sincerely doubt there would recreational opportunities for them in New York harbor.
22 people on a 42 boat would have been about the max at a dock party, very unlikely a skipper would take a party of that size to sea.
It is unlikely the skipper did not notice his nav lights were off.
So, IMO there are 3 nautical unlikelies, which of course is unlikely unless there was something untoward planned by the skipper and his crew.
They were up to something, but who knows what? There weren't enough weapons to arm everone unless they saw the patrol boat coming on radar and dumped what they thought was all of the guns. It was very unlikely they were planning an act of piracy. "Get away" speeds are dreadfully slow, it takes alot more than dim bulbs to hide, and it seems the yacht they were on belonged to the skipper.
The Coast Guard is pretty savvy, they felt compelled to arrest them, and someone somewhere is probably benefitting from their actions today.

[paul51]

There is no logical or rational reason for those weapons to be on board

Why wouldn't they be stored on board while in port? What do you expect them to do with the weapons while docked? Rent a local self storage garage?

[BurbankKarl]

a nickle plated AK47 sea rifle...

haha

[varon]

A lot of boaters carry guns, even (registered) machine guns. This may be nothing out of the ordinary.

Yeah, maybe they were out for the day 'plinking' sea gulls ;-)

[ninenot]

While I don't have any suspicions about this boater---

I do think he's a couple cards short of a deck. He should have stowed the guns at his HOUSE during the Pubbie convention, especially if he's going to give the Coasties REASONS for boarding.

[68skylark]

Yeah, you make valid points. All I was trying to say was that some oceangoing yachts routinely keep weapons on board. I've done it at times. So the mere presence of weapons doesn't necessarily mean a crime was in progress. Of course, other factors can give us evidence about whether these weapons were kept for peaceful self-defense, or meant for some kind of crime.

I myself have the utmost respect for the Coast Guard, and I'd be sorry if my comments seemed to be disparaging any of their work -- that wasn't my intention at all.

[4woodenboats]

I would expect the skipper to keep them with their bowling ball and golf clubs - at home. The thrill of yachting just isn't enhanced much by high powered firearms. The weapons he had are simply out of place for where he was and what he was on.

[vpintheak]

12 gauge, .30 cal rifle, and an AK-47. Not a big deal really. Just a little 2nd Ammendment fun.

[4woodenboats]

"Yeah, you make valid points. All I was trying to say was that some oceangoing yachts routinely keep weapons on board. I've done it at times. So the mere presence of weapons doesn't necessarily mean a crime was in progress. Of course, other factors can give us evidence about whether these weapons were kept for peaceful self-defense, or meant for some kind of crime. The article refers to a 45 foot cabin cruiser, nothing ocean going about that. I too have brought firearms aboard, but only while long distance cruising to Mexico for protection, and a couple of times when I was kid, my dad and I would sail at least 10 - 15 miles out to sea to teach me how to shoot - during the day. In either case, the weapons came off as soon as we returned to port. I myself have the utmost respect for the Coast Guard, and I'd be sorry if my comments seemed to be disparaging any of their work -- that wasn't my intention at all. I didn't read any disrespect for the Coasties into your statements. Sure it's possible this guy has a legit reason for the guns, I just think it's unlikely

[4woodenboats]

I've been having trouble with spaces between my sentences lately.
I'll write in paragraghs but the spaces between disapear when I post

Test

Test

[4woodenboats]

ok i know what i did wrong

[Phsstpok]

depending on where you sail, pirating is still a very real threat that some people think doesn't exist anymore.

OK, except for the Bonano's and the longshoreman's union I don't think that there are too many pirates in New York Harbor!!!!!!!

[LocalYokel]

Yikes folks, this sounds like less than a tempest in a teapot. Unless the AK-47 was capable of full automatic action I doubt it would be illegal, it's just a normal semi-auto rifle.

As a person who has lived aboard a 45 ft sailboat for over 15 years, allow me to add just a bit of explanation.

If you live aboard your own boat, does that mean you don't have 2nd amendment rights? You can't have a party with 22 friends? What if you're retired and living in a motor home? Are you still a citizen with all the rights and responsibilities? (I sure think so!) And where would you "store" your firearms except on your boat? Are boat owners now required to also own/rent a home? His "arsenal" doesn't sound like much to me, a shotgun and two rifles. Mine is quite similar if you exchange the AK-47 for a Mini-14 and add a .45 automatic. Would these "reporters" have called my Mini-14 a "machine gun"? Maybe, they've done it before. In CA it's called an illegal assault weapon if it's wearing a stock with a pistol grip. If that had been my boat, the headline of the article would sure have sounded worse! "Assault weapons found in offshore arsenal"

Why carry guns at all aboard a boat? Reason 1: it's your home and you live there. Reason 2: Well folks, there ain't no cops out there when you leave sight of land. I've had problems with oddballs in anchorages just a few hours offshore (S.CA) and appreciated having a gun(s) aboard. Yes, it's pretty unusual to really have to need a weapon to defend yourself, it's only happened to me once in 15 years.

One other side note to living aboard a boat. One year I was denied the right to vote because my address was one of those PO box rental places. The Post Office won't deliver mail to a boat at a dock, so that's the only way to get mail. So I called to complain. Nothing they could do (so they claimed), as they said the law required a "permanent" address. So I called the RNC (I'm a registered Republican). Nada. So I called the DNC. Registration approved and arrived in the mail in a few days. Hmmm.

[LocalYokel]

I don't think that there are too many pirates in New York Harbor!!!!!!!

Pretty funny. Yeah, we never hear about crime in NY.

If it was me sleeping aboard my boat in a marina in NY Harbor, I'd have a loaded .45 under the pillow. You're darn right there are bad guys in NY Harbor, and all it takes is walking down a poorly lit dock at night, past zero security guards, two steps to get aboard my boat, and you're standing 10 feet from my sleeping daughter. Duh.

But maybe cops in NY are different than any other place in the world and they're actually catching bad guys BEFORE they commit crimes.

Call them pirates, call them crooks, call them bad guys, whatever you want. But they are out there. Yes, I actually do have a gun aboard my boat (several) and yes I've actually had to use it. Once in the 15years I lived aboard. Against a guy that broke into my boat at 2am while I was sleeping aboard, tied up at a nice fancy marina. Welcome to the 21st century.

[Phsstpok]

OK, I mentioned the Bonano's and the longshoremans union, so I did acknolwedge that there were bad guys out there. I was merely reacting to the term Pirates.

I grew up in Westchester, a bit away from New York Harbor, but my brother was married (briefly) into the family of one of the two tug boat companies in New York Harbor, so I've heard my share of tales.

Of course, those kinds of bad guys don't limit themselves to watery malefaction. I don't call them pirates. I call them targets of opportunity.

[Oztrich Boy]

I feel so safe now. Thank heavens he wasn't caught with a SNIPER RIFLE! (insert sarcastic smirck here).

" he was carrying a 12-guage shotgun, a .30 caliber rifle and an AK-47"

An anti-personel weapon, a sniper rifle and a machine gun

[snooker]

Well let's see the machine gun first, make up our mind second. For all we know the 'machine' gun might be a toy. The media doesn't exactly know a machine gun from a semi-auto now do they? I will wait for more definitive data, like a photo.

[paul51]

The weapons he had are simply out of place for where he was and what he was on

No they weren't. Would you take your family out into open sea without firearms on board? As for taking them home, that's a ggod one. He can lock them up in a case and throw them in the truck and head home. I can see it now. Man stopped in NYC 1 week before convention with three sniper rifles in trunk.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

When reporters in the media have a story about guns?

Just remember how truthful they have been about the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, then draw your own conclusions about the veracity of the report. I did,and decided once again, they are all lying SOB's.