Sorry about that! The Chief just couldn’t resist the obvious cheap humor, although the reality of the current crop of piracy in the Gulf of Aden has nothing to laugh about any more than there was humor in the original pirates of the Caribbean, who were as evil a pack of scoundrels and murderers as ever walked, or sailed the planet.
The current crop, by all accounts, aren’t much better.
In a startling throwback to 17th century days of Spanish galleons, Barbary pirates and avenging royal navies, pirates attacked a record 17 ships in the Gulf of Aden in the first two weeks of September compared to just 10 in the entire year of 2007, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Center.
Q: How long until official naval anti-piracy patrols are set up?
A: Not soon enough.
Rope. Pirates. Yardarm. Some assembly required.
(Yes, modern naval ships DO still have yardarms – they’re really great at supporting antennae of various sorts!)