The PROVISION PIRATES
It was a bright, sunny and lazy day in the Pacific Intertropical Convergence Zone, some 800 miles from the South American coast. Our Beneteau 423, Shapeshifter, was ambling along in a light, pleasant breeze, and I was contemplating a nap when the radio crackled to life down in the nav station, and a voice called out our boat’s name. Our skipper, Colin, went below to listen.
“Shapeshifter, Shapeshifter, Illimite.” It was the sailboat we’d seen on our radar 12 miles ahead of us. Colin answered while I listened from the cockpit.
“Illimite, this is Shapeshifter.”
“Hey, just wanted to let you guys know that we were just visited by three guys in a panga. They didn’t seem to be threatening. They just asked for a bit of water and food, and then left.”
Colin chatted with ’s captain for a few minutes, gathing up additional details on what happened. Apparently, the panga had appeared out of nowhere. Its deck
