Robin Hood or Corsican Pirates?

Were they pirates or simply 21st century
merry men from Corsica planning on robbing the rich to give to the poor? Just as
traveling a road through Sherwood Forest in 12th century England might have tempted
men in tights, anchoring off the southern coast of Corsica might also be considered
as pushing one’s luck, even today. After all, the island is world-famous for its
bandits. Imagine what a tempting target the 178’ megasloop Tiara must have been,
and last week the Pirates of the Med struck.

Merry Men and the Megayacht -- The $36 million was a tempting target. What would Friar Tuck say about a little redistribution of the wealth?

The Corsican flag dates to 1762 and is a Moor’s head with a white banadeau. There is a message here somewhere.

Tiara was anchored off the southern coast of Corsica. Four masked men with handguns
and rifles pulled up in a speedboat and boarded. It has not been reported whether
or not the intruders took off their shoes before boarding. The vessel had nine startled
people aboard including crew and guests. The owner, Jonathan Leitersdorf, was reportedly
not aboard.

Corsican bandits have long prided themselves on their good taste and enjoyment of the finer things in life.

The pirates, bandits, merry men, or whatever, robbed the passengers and crew of
more than $180,000 in cash from the yacht safe and from the guests who had chartered
the yacht. It seems that the intruders were connoisseurs of fine jewelry and the
lovely artwork in the ship’s main saloon and stuffed that into their bags along
with the valuable Euros and Pounds Sterling.



Needless to say the pirates ordered the captain to empty the boat’s safe then told
the nine guests — who had paid £130,000 for their one-week charter — to hand over
their cash. Given that it is customary to tip the crew 15% to 20% of the charter
fee on a megayacht, and the fact that such crew rarely accept checks, the guests
might have been toting quite a bundle.



The French captain and his crew, as recommended, did not fight back. No shots were
fired and nobody was hurt. We’re told that the bandits missed the 3 kilos of Beluga
Caviar in the galley which the charter party ate on toast points later in the evening
while watching an old Cary Grant movie.



The heist took less than ten minutes. The four men bid adieu to the vacationers,
got back in their boat and disappeared into the dark night, breaking all rules by
not having their running lights turned on.

The cliffs of Banifacio on the southern tip of Corscia provide a scenic backdrop for a megayacht at anchor.

The Tiara charters for €180,000-190,000 per week, and the boat has a beautiful wood
interior that includes a master suite with a fireplace. The boat is available for
charter, but not near Corsica, we're told.

The main saloon of the 178’ yacht.

This sort of piracy is rare in European waters. The French coastguard said that
until this attack there had been no notable piracy raids on large vessels for several
years. A spokesman said,  “These armed robberies are very unusual here.”



But a captain based in the French Riviera resort of Antibes said, “Passengers who
charter yachts are very wealthy, so pirates could steal several hundred thousand
pounds worth of money and goods in a few minutes.”



The official advice from the Royal Yachting Association on piracy is for passengers
and crew not to attempt to fight back if they are confronted by armed raiders, but
to hand over all cash and valuables.



One British publication reported that “most yacht captains still keep weapons to
hand and many are prepared to defend themselves if boarded.”

The crew of Tiara specializes in fine dining. The charter price does not include the tip for the crew.

One captain reportedly said
to a British tabloid: “We carry a lot of cash on board boats for emergencies…” He
might have added that greasing the palms of dock masters along the Riveria where
slips are often hard to come by is one of the emergencies. “…and charter guests
are very wealthy. Pirates can often hoover up several hundred thousand pounds' worth
of money and goods in just a few minutes,” he said.


Were the intruders pirates, bandits or Robin Hood's men?


You be the Judge!