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Old 08-02-2012, 02:51 PM   #39
Marin
Scraping Paint
 
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 13,745
Quote:
Originally Posted by expat View Post
Thanks Marin for your reply.I can understand the wildlife/bear cougar answer for BC and Alaska coasts, my next question is do any of the Canadian boats carry firearms, we have always relied on the flare gun but have never actually used it .
I think you will find that the whole "we carry a weapon to use against people" thing is one of these armchair theory things. While I know there have been incidents of intrusion, boardings, and other such conflicts, I suspect that 99.9999999999999 percent of boaters, at least in US and Canadian waters, have never had an incidence of needing a firearm for personal protection against another person even if they've been boating for decades.

I'm not saying this is a reason not to carry a firearm if one is convinced they are under iminent threat of attack in the marina or on the mooring. Just that I think the threat that is used as the reason for carrying a firearm is mostly in people's imaginations.

In other waters-- Mexico, Central America, SE Asia, etc--- the situation sounds like it is way different. But Joe Boater out for a week's or weekend's cruise in the San Juans or Gulf Islands or along the Maine coast the ICW is not likely to be set upon by hooligans bent on destroying his boat and raping his dog.
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