Boarding is a term linked to the verb tackle, which consists of getting on a vehicle. Te concept of boarding is usually associated with boarding a ship with the aim of capturing it or making it your own.
When there are people on board, they leave their boat and get on another to attack their crew. The action was frequent in antiquity in times of war or in the performance of pirates. With the development of new armaments, boarding action became less frequent.
In this sense, it must be emphasized that in many of the films that deal with the world of buccaneers and corsairs, the phrase “Al boarding” appears very frequently. And it was that this was the order issued by the captains of the ship to carry out the operation in which the attack on another vessel took place with the clear objective of appropriating the treasure that it had.
This can be observed in detail in films such as The Black Pirate (1926) by Mario Costa, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) by Gore Verbinski or The Dreadful Mocker (1952) by Robert Siodmak.
We can also establish that there are various types of boarding, among which stand out, for example, the leeward boarding, which is characterized by the fact that the first step to undertake it is to gain ground on the enemy ship. Once this is achieved, what is involved is putting the boom through the main pole until the wind falls on it and in this way the circulation of that one is prevented.
In the same way we find another class of approaches as would be the case, for example, of the so-called “good”. This in particular is the one defined by the fact that what is done is to ram the rival boat directly from one of its sides.
At anchor, roa by roa, in the long run or by avante are also other different types of approaches.
A boarding ax is known as the curved beak instrument that is nailed to the boat to be boarded and used to hold on.
A piece of boarding, on the other hand, is one of the sets that is part of a warship and that is intended to specify or combat boardings.
An approach can take place in the framework of a war, when the navy intends to destroy or take an enemy vessel. In times of peace, on the other hand, the guard in charge of protecting the coast of a country can decide an approach with the purpose of preventing a crime or to protect those boats that are victims of a criminal.
Specialists offer various suggestions to prevent and avoid boardings. Illuminating the ship at night, conducting active surveillance, identifying nearby vessels, and issuing alerts when a ship is heading for a possible collision are some of the recommendations made by experts in maritime and river safety.
