The Pirates of Gujerat

"Then there were lengthy stops in the hot, humid ports, where the ship was at the mercy of the local ruler; expensive port dues and presents had to be paid, and there would often be forced stays ending only when the possibilities of trade were exhausted. On the ocean, storms, reefs, and shallows were ever-present perils; captain and crew felt only slightly less helpless than the merchants; in the midst of huge waves man was indeed 'a worm on a splinter.' Add to this the terrible danger of pirates in their oared vessels, much faster in calms and light winds than any ship relying on sail alone; these could be repelled only by the action of fire-throwing machines that mariners carried aboard, except in the rare waters where a ruler kept a navy to safeguard shipping. Marco Polo says that the pirates of Gujerat formed cordons of twenty to thirty ships at intervals of five or six miles, signalling to each other by fire or smoke. In the midst of all these troubles, mariner and merchant called readily upon God for help, and the narratives of the sea are full of His name."

George F. Hourani, Arab Seafaring (1951).