Ellen & Jim Robbed By Pirates Off Venezuela 10-16-2010

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Ellen Birrell and her husband, Jim Hutchins, were stalwarts of Reading Liberally during its first 2-3 years of existence, whereupon they "pulled up stakes" the end of 2008 to sail the world on their yacht, Boldly Go.

They are in town for other matters but will attend our Aug 14th meeting.

Since Ellen and Jim still have so many friends in the area (for example, Ellen was on the Board of the Salt Lake County Democrats), it is respectfully requested that anyone planning to come on Aug 14th RSVP so we know whether to "kill the fatted calf" (i.e., provide anything more festive than our regular coffee/decaf with chocolate-chunk cookies and peanut butter cookies) and whether to request accommodations for more than 20.

Simply e-mail ReadingLiberally-SaltLake@johnkarls.com with "I will attend Aug 14 (with guest(s) John Doe (and Jane Roe))."
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Pat
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Ellen & Jim Robbed By Pirates Off Venezuela 10-16-2010

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Reading Liberally Editorial Notes =

1. Ellen and Jim were robbed by pirates off the coast of Venezuela on 10/16/2010 per the following article in the Salt Lake Tribune.

2. Landlubbers might think that nobody’s law applies on the High Seas outside the territorial limit of all countries -- but virtually every country in the world has a body of Maritime Law that applies to the High Seas that it will enforce, and under international law most countries would also enforce any applicable Maritime Law of other jurisdictions under the Doctrine of Comity.

3. So an interesting question would be whether sailboat owners such as Ellen and Jim are entitled under International Maritime Law to have firearms on board their vessels for self defense.

4. And, if so, whether Ellen and Jim have decided to keep firearms aboard Boldly Go for self defense (rather than merely, as Ellen is quoted as saying in the following article, visiting dangerous areas “with other boats or under the cloak of darkness”).


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Salt Lake Tribune – 11/13/2010

Cottonwood Heights Couple Survive Pirate Attack In Caribbean --
They Were Beaten But Say They’re Glad Gunmen Didn’t Torch Their Boat
By Christopher Smart


A Cottonwood Heights couple sailing off the coast of Venezuela were attacked and robbed by pirates but survived the ordeal after the thieves decided not to burn their 40-foot sloop.

Ellen Birrell, 53, and Jim Hutchins, 59, have been living aboard their boat, Boldly Go, since 2009, sailing around the Caribbean, Birrell said in a telephone interview Thursday from Porlamor on Isla Margarita off the coast of Venezuela.

They had been boating near Grenada in mid-October but navigated south in order to stay clear of Hurricane Max. The couple had hoped to avoid the Venezuelan coast because they had heard reports of pirates there.

But weather and wind conditions forced them near the country's coast, west of the islands of Los Testigos.

At about 10 a.m. on Oct. 16, four men approached on a small, fast-moving craft.

"It was one of those glorious days," Birrell said. "We had the boat on auto-pilot."

Almost as soon as Hutchins spied the craft, it was alongside the Boldly Go.

"I was asleep with no clothes on. Jim was scrambling to get me clothes," she said. "They were on board and had a pistol to each of our heads within seconds."

One of the pirates hit Hutchins in the head and on the back with the butt of his gun. They then bound the couple's hands and feet with duct tape, Birrell recalled.

"They ransacked the entire boat. They wanted our cash and all our valuables," she said. "It went on for about 45 minutes."

The men took $500 in cash and about $5,000 worth of electronics, including all the navigational gear. They put Birrell and Hutchins in different parts of the boat, she said.

"I was scared, but I didn't know what they were doing to Jim."

At one point, the pirates grew dissatisfied with the amount of cash they had found, Birrell said. "They beat Jim and then stuck a pistol in his mouth and pulled the trigger."

The chamber was empty.

Later, Birrell could hear the pirates arguing. And then, finally, they sped away.

The couple were eventually able to free themselves. That is when they discovered the galley had been doused in kerosene. A box of wooden matches was nearby.

A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, said the U.S. Privacy Act did not allow him to confirm or deny the attack on Birrell and Hutchins. But a source at the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C., confirmed that it happened.

A published State Department bulletin warns that "incidents of piracy off the coast of Venezuela remain a concern."

"Attacks on foreign tourists in Venezuelan coastal waters and around Margarita Island have increased over the last several years," the bulletin said. "Recent attacks have been especially violent, including the murder of a U.S. citizen in 2002, the fatal shooting of an Italian citizen in January 2004, and a machete attack on a U.S. citizen in 2005."

One published report said pirates in the same area in at least one case did set fire to a sailboat after they robbed it.

Birrell said she and Hutchins are glad to be alive. "They took our belongings but they didn't take our lives."

The couple has secured a new GPS navigation and computer system. They plan to continue their "lifestyle" of sailing. But Birrell said they've learned a valuable lesson.

"When we know we are sailing into waters we believe to be dangerous, we will go with other boats or under the cloak of darkness," she said.

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