Boarding is a term linked to the verb boarding , which consists of getting into a vehicle. The concept is usually associated with boarding a ship with the aim of capturing it or making it one's own.
When there are people who are boarding, they leave their boat and get on another to attack its crew members. The action was frequent in ancient times during times of war or in the performance of pirates. With the development of new weapons, 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 privateers it is very common for the phrase “On boarding” to appear. And this was the order issued by the ship's captains to carry out the operation in which the attack on another ship took place with the clear objective of appropriating the treasure it had.
We can observe this carefully 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, for example, the leeward boarding stands out, which is characterized because the first step to undertake it is to gain ground on the enemy ship. Once this is achieved, what is involved is to insert the bowsprit through the mainmast until the wind falls on it and in this way the circulation of the bowsprit is prevented.
In the same way we find other types of approaches such as 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 directly ram the rival boat from one of its sides.
To the anchor, roa to roa, in the long run or ahead are also other different types of approaches.
A boarding ax is known as the instrument with a curved beak that is stuck in the ship that is intended to be boarded and that is used to hold on.
A boarding piece , on the other hand, is one of the sets that is part of a warship and that has the purpose of carrying out or combating boardings.
A boarding can take place in the context 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 may decide to board in order to prevent a crime or to protect those ships that are victims of a criminal.
Specialists provide various suggestions to prevent and avoid approaches. Illuminating the ship at night, carrying out active surveillance , identifying nearby vessels and issuing alerts when a ship is heading towards a possible collision are some of the recommendations made by maritime and river safety experts.