Pirates in the News! Special Edition, La Ponant, Part 3

Congratulations to French Government for securing the safe release of all the hostages aboard the yacht, La Ponant.

French Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin said no public money was used to pay a ransom. But he hinted heavily that the boat's owners did hand over money, and that some was recovered when the pirates were caught. French troops had recovered "interesting bags," he said.

French shipping company CMA-CGM, which owns the operator of the 288-foot Le Ponant, hailed the end of the standoff but released no details about the operation.

The six captured pirates were being held on a French Navy vessel, the president's office said. They "gave themselves up without too much difficulty" and will be handed over to French judicial authorities, Georgelin said.

While we're all glad that the standoff ended expeidiantly and without violence, I think that many of you may be a little dissapointed that there was no action-movie-like showdown. So readers, I give you Action-Star and Frenchman: Jean Claude Van Damme to slake your bloodlust.


The yacht itself is expected to arrive in Djibouti no later than Tuesday of next week.

Book Review: A Short and Bloody History of Pirates

A Short and Bloody History of Pirates by John Farman

This is a great introduction to pirateology for the young swabby just putting to sea (an nine or ten year old would LOVE this book). There are copious pictures and anecdotes as well as delightfully horrifying descriptions of pirate "food" and methods of torture.

It's truly adorable. But that said, it doesn't pull that many punches, there are topics on disgusting disease, cross-dressing, cannibalism and untimely deaths in graphic detail.

Here's an excerpt from Page 36:

"Dysentery
Dysentery is a horrible disease and almost too yucky to talk about. You get it when a lot of people are crowded together and don't wash their hands after going to the bathroom, and then handle food. On a pirate ship, not only did they not have proper toilets... but the water was far too precious to be used for washing. Actually, pirates were a filthy bunch who wouldn't have washed their hands anyway.

Symptoms
Don't worry, you'll soon know if you've got it: severe bouts of blood-filled diarrhea, followed by severe stomach pains, followed by a severe thirst, followed by, if you're a bit unlucky severe death. Severely not to be recommended.

Medical Tip
If you've got dysentery, don't, for God's sake, confuse it with scurvy for, if you rush for the fruit bowl, it'll more than likely make it much worse."

Four out of Five hooks