Aussie family tells of pirate attack terror

AN Australian family’s dream trip sailing around the world turned into a frightening nightmare when they were attacked by pirates.

Louise Turner, husband Lachin and their two young children were saved only by the lucky arrival of a Japanese warship.

“We were essentially sitting ducks,” Ms Turner said of the moment the family spied a pirate skiff zeroing in on their catamaran, AraKai, in the Gulf of Aden, off Yemen.

“We were at the wrong place at the wrong time. We were completely vulnerable.”

More pirate skiffs soon arrived, targeting the family with well-orchestrated manoeuvres — passing close by and across their bow to scope out their prey while trying to shepherd them away from any other vessels.

Terrified for their safety, particularly their children Siara, 11, and Kai, 4, Ms Turner made a frantic mayday call, saying they were under “imminent pirate attack”.

Their mayday was picked up by a container vessel and passed on to coalition warships, patrolling the interna- tional recommended transit corridor because of the large number of pirate attacks in the area.

Ms Turner, 44, skippered the catamaran while her husband, 48, manned the engine

“We believe it was only by minutes that the appearance of two warships on the horizon thwarted the attack.”

The skiffs, thankfully, pulled away.