Atlantic Spain, Gulf of Cadiz: German Cruising Boat Pursued by Pirates
On route from Faro, Portugal to Gibraltar last week, a German Lagoon 42 was pursued by masked men in 2 RIBs who tried to board the boat off the coast of Spain. The crew were able to repel the boarders with assistance from the Spanish Coastguard. As reported by https://www.yacht.de/.
Published 4 years ago
- The position of the “Marianne” at the time of the pirate attack – taken from yacht.de
Original report in German from https://www.yacht.de/
The incident took place last week on the edge of the Gulf of Cádiz off the southwest coast of Spain. Peter Fricke and his wife on board their Lagoon 42 “Marianne” had left in the morning from an anchorage near the Portuguese port city of Faro and set course for the Straits of Gibraltar; they are currently on a delivery trip from France to Croatia.
Earlier that morning the skipper had noticed a fast RIB that had driven through the anchor field. After raising anchor shortly afterwards to continue their voyage towards the Mediterranean, they noticed that 2 RIBs were following them.
Around midday they left the coast to sail across the Gulf of Cádiz, and it was at this point one of the two RIBs quickly approached them from behind. The people in the rib were wearing balaclavas.
Fortunately for the German sailors, sea conditions were rough and the catamaran was motoring into the wind and waves making boarding difficult. However, several times the skipper had to push the RIB away with a boat hook.
Meanwhile, his wife made an emergency call via VHF, which was immediately forwarded to the Spanish Coast Guard by a nearby tanker. Within ten minutes a Coast Guard helicopter was on the scene and the RIBS fled towards the African coast.
The masked men on board the RIBs did not appear to have any weapons.
In Cádiz, where the German sailors gave their testimony to the Spanish police, they learnt that in addition to gangs of smugglers (who try to bring migrants from Africa to the Spanish south coast), the sea area is also a hotspot for international drug smuggling.
The German crew later heard from fellow sailors that they had noticed the RIBs “patrolling” between the Faro and Olhão islands the previous year.
Best advice if making this passage is not to stray too far from the Portuguese and Spanish coasts, and, in particular not to shorten the route south by sailing across the Gulf of Cádiz.
Related News:
German sailors attacked by pirates – yacht.de (21 September, 2020)
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Noonsite has not independently verified this information.
Related to following destinations: Cadiz, Gibraltar, Portugal, South West Coast (Spain), Spain
Related to the following Cruising Resources: Atlantic Ocean East, Piracy & Security, Routing, Safety, Safety and Medical
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