Avast, Hearties! Are Pirates Once Again Sailing in US Waters?

by Ryan Vagabundo

Pirates haven't had much luck in United States waters for about 200 years now, but reports out of the San Francisco Bay Area paint a picture of a buccaneer revival being afoot. 

2023 saw the Oakland Estuary plagued with what have been described as "pirate" incidents, as marauders approach boats in dinghies, raid them for anything salable, and sometimes then steal and sink them in the bay to help cover their tracks. 

Attacks are mostly targeting "liveaboards" in the area, but there have been commercial thefts as well.  One night in mid-August, scallywags made off with half of the Alameda Community Sailing Center's small boats meant for teaching kids how to sail. At least one yacht club and motor shop have also reported maritime raids in the past year. 

The Bay Area has seen the biggest rash of these incidents recently, but they are also occuring sporadically across the country. Just to the north in California, the Sacramento River has long been known for "floating homeless" that take over abandoned boats and live on them. This has led to occasional theft and crime incidents, including at least one million-dollar yacht being pillaged. 

And in Tacoma WA, at least one marina seems to be the focus of land-based raids by a nearby homeless camp. The advanced raiders appear to come equipped with vans and RVs and have even been spotted using drones to scout the property for choice booty. Over in Florida, some of the local homeless are schoonering out to state-owned intracoastal islands and claiming the land for themselves, creating methed-out mini-Tortugas complete with illegal nightly rentals and weekend drug parties.  

Piracy is actually up globally in 2023 after hitting modern lows in recent years, but mostly in Africa, SE Asia and Peru. While all of this is fun to explore, legal killjoys will be quick to point out that these US incidents do not meet the legal definition of "piracy" as they do not take place in international waters. 

The Oakland Estuary incidents seem to be just another outgrowth of the SF Bay Area's unique breed of lawlessness as of late, but it will be interesting to see if the pirate trend spreads elsewhere that "liveaboard" or "anchor-out" communities intersect with increasingly extreme poverty and crime.