If one were sailing near the east coast of Asia or Africa What is the likelihood of pirates attacking a smaller sailboat 30-40ft?

Many areas, most especially in Asian waters, remain on the Notice To Mariners priacy warning list. In fact, some sources indicate that piracy has increased and become more organized over the last few decades, though the threat increase is has been greater with commerical cargo vessels; targets that pirates had difficulty with 30 years or more ago. South China Sea in particular is a hot zone. The following comments will likely sound melodramatic. I'll leave it to the reader to draw their own conclusions. Read the notice to mariners and State Dept. priacy alerts before you enter into a hot region. As most piracy of smaller vessels occurs in or near port, be aware and try to tie up in well-lit or well gaurded locations. Don't make it a point to advertise your departure time and date or the port you're bound for. For extended stays, transport valuables ashore. At sea, don't make a point to be easily observed. Make for your destination smartly and have all hands awake when you pass a choke point. If you're certain you're under attack and have the radio range, consider a mayday broadcast. If you're out of range this can be a bad idea as it cal alert the attacker that you're aware (and out of range). It's always a good idea to talk to the port authorities about this before weighing anchor but -- even with them -- try to never leave a detailed float plan with anyone you don't know to be trustworthy. In some ports, uniforms are not a badge of integrity. Small cruisers such as you describe are not the primary piracy target nowadays, but this isn't firm protection. One aside: Weaponry. Unless you're extremely well armed (so much so you can get arrested in port), there's no winning a shoot-out with professional pirates. That's absolutely a last resort if you ask me. Your best safety is knowing the current reports regarding the waters you're sailing, and acting accordingly. Note that new piracy warnings are transmitted daily, so there's no excuse to not have the most recent info. See link: