Pirates & Privateers: Klaus Hympendahl's Books

When a plane is hijacked, it’s in the news all over the world, and the hijackers can’t expect to get away with it. But when a yacht or freighter is hijacked, no one cares. -- Boris Kulpi, attacked by pirates off Somalia, in a letter to the author

When Klaus Hympendahl circumnavigated the world between 1986 and 1991, he neither encountered pirates nor worried about them. He left his lights on and his hatchways open. "We felt sure that nothing would happen to us . . . nobody would rob our boat." Later, on investigating reports about pirates and compiling files on two dozen accounts, his opinion changed. "What I’d considered impossible had overnight become painful reality . . . Pirates were back on the high seas and that, in some regions, being informed was a matter of life and death for cruising sailors."

During the past six years, pirates have attacked 200 boats (about thirty-three each year). There are no precise statistics kept on yacht piracy, but through the author’s research, he discovers there are differences between those who prey on merchant ships and those who attack bluewater cruisers. The latter pirates are less structured, work alone or in small groups, and they often haunt the waters in places other than those where merchant ships are attacked. The primary motives of these pirates are poverty and desperation -- the desire to survive.

Hympendhal’s purpose in writing Pirates Aboard! is to make others aware of the problem haunting mariners today. He provides case studies of attacks, dividing them into world regions and including pertinent data about the boats, their owners, and the time and place of the attack. He usually recaps what he learns from interviews with the victims, but sometimes allows them to poignantly tell of the attacks in their own words. Each story concludes with questions and answers about what weapons the boat owners possess at the time of the attack, what they feel they do right and wrong, and what they will do differently if attacked again. He also gives suggestions on what yachtsmen can do to ensure their safety, answering questions such as How do I get away? Who do I call for help? How do I defend myself? What things should I hide?

This is a compelling book that provides specific information about modern piracy and what yachtsmen can do to increase their chances of surviving an attack. Although he includes several well-publicized incidents (including the murder of Sir Peter Blake and the shooting that paralyzes thirteen-year-old Willem van Tuijl), most of these cases go unnoticed by the public. The author makes the victims and their experiences real for readers. Anyone who reads this book will come away with a new perspective on the dangers of sailing and how our own actions at times invite pirates to attack. Pirates Aboard! is a must read for anyone who desires to sail to foreign ports, or just dreams of doing so.

IMB Piracy Reporting Centre
Modern Piracy Resources