[RVRC] Somali Pirates Killed Hams

[E Drew Moore]

Somali Pirates Killed Hams 

  

Three of  the Yachtsmen Killed by Somali Pirates were Hams 

 

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Four Americans -- including three Amateur Radio  operators -- who were being held hostage on their yacht by pirates off the coast  of Oman have been killed. Scott Adam, K9ESO, and his wife Jean, KF6RVB, along  with Bob Riggle, KE7IIV, and Phylis Macay were on board the S/V Quest when pirates boarded their vessel on  Friday, February 18. The Adams were based in the Los Angeles area; Riggle and  Macay were from Seattle . 

According to the US Central <http://www.centcom.mil/>   Command, the boat was in the Indian Ocean , headed toward the Somali coast  when on Friday, the 58 foot yacht sent a distress signal. The boat was being  trailed by US Navy forces; it was about a two day sail from the Somali coast.  They had begun tracking the yacht after being alerted that a Danish naval  helicopter had seen the Quest off  Oman under the pirates’ control. The Central Command oversees US anti-piracy  operations in the Indian Ocean . 

 

Officials were in the process of negotiating for the  Americans’ release when gunfire was heard around 1 AM (EST) on Tuesday, February  22. “As ( US forces) responded to the gunfire, reaching and boarding the Quest , the forces discovered all  four hostages had been shot by their captors,” a statement <http://www.centcom.mil/press-releases/u-s-forces-respond-to-gunfire-aboard-the-s-v-quest> from US Central Command said. “Despite  immediate steps to provide life-saving care, all four hostages ultimately died  of their wounds.” 

 

There were signs of divisions among the 19 pirates  during the hostage standoff, Central Command said. On Monday, two of them came  aboard one of the Navy vessels, the USS Sterret , for face-to-face negotiations and  did not return to the yacht. The incident turned fatal on Tuesday morning when  the pirates fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the Sterret , which missed, and US naval  personnel heard gunshots coming from the yacht. At that point, a team of 15  special-operations forces boarded the yacht. On Saturday, President Barack Obama  authorized the military to use force in case of an imminent threat to the  hostages, said White House spokesman Jay Carney. 

 

After the grenade was fired at the Sterret , several pirates came on deck with  their hands raised, as if trying to surrender, said Admiral Mark Fox. The  gunfire erupted on board almost immediately. But US officers said it was not  known whether the hostages had made an escape attempt or whether disagreements  among the pirates prompted the shots. Fox -- the Commander of US Navy’s Fifth  Fleet, responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the  Arabian Sea and the coast off East Africa as far south as Kenya -- said that the  incident was the deadliest one he could recall involving US citizens held by  pirates. It is believed 19 pirates were involved in the  hijacking. 

 

The Navy had been closely monitoring the S/V Quest for about three days, once it became  known to be pirated. Four US Navy warships comprised the response force  dedicated to recovering the Quest : the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise , the guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf and the guided-missile  destroyers USS Sterret and USS Bulkeley . The bodies of the four  Americans are now on board the Enterprise . 

 

The Adams planned to travel across the Indian Ocean from  their temporary dock in Phuket , Thailand , and then head up the Red Sea and  through the Mediterranean to the Greek islands. They had considered shipping the  boat to avoid the dangers of the trip, but decided instead to join a rally of  yachts heading to the same location. For reasons unknown, the foursome  apparently decided to break off from the Blue Water Rally <http://www.yachtrallies.co.uk/index.php/blue-water-rally.html> , which organized and supported  the group of boats headed toward the Mediterranean . Blue Water Rally organizers  released a statement <http://www.yachtrallies.co.uk/index.php/blue-water-rally/295-s-v-quest.html> on their website, saying that said the  Adams chose to take an independent route from Mumbai to Salalah , Oman , and  left the rally on February 15. In a statement on February 22 after hearing of  the deaths from “the pirate menace which is plaguing the Indian Ocean ,” Blue  Water Rally called the Adams, Riggle and Macay “brave  adventurers.” 

 

A former TV unit production manager, Scott Adam, 70, was  an experienced sailor who had owned a boat most of his life. And although 66  year old Jean Adam, a retired dentist, became seasick easily, she took  medication for it because she loved being on the water. According to their  website, the Adams -- who each have children from previous marriages -- planned  to hand out Bibles during their trip.  -- Thanks to The Associated Press and US Central Command  for some information 

 

 <http://www.arrl.org/news/view/three-yachtsmen-killed-by-somali-pirates-were-hams> Photo Gallery

   • http://www.arrl.org/images/view/News/ScottJeanAdam.jpg

 

Scott Adam, K9ESO... KF6RVB 

http://www.arrl.org/images/view/News/RiggleMacay1.jpg

 

   • Bob Riggle, KE7II...