Pirates strip yacht Lady Ann

[Thrall]

Apologies if this has already been posted.

This Icelandic yacht was attacked by pirates off Margarita, see: http://www.simnet.is/aoa/sjoran/pirates.htm
The couple lost all money electronics etc. to a value of about GBP 12,000, but according to the paper today, they will probably move over to St. Martin to reequip as the island is tax free. The pooch on board was clever enough to remain silent throughout, so survived the ordeal. They also mention in the interview that trying to help the authorities is proving very expensive with taxis back and forth the length of the island plus hiring translators. The couple have my respect, as they seem to mean to carry on regardless, as they commented that there were plenty of islands still to be visited before crossing to the Pacific!

Thrall

 

[BrendanS]

A horrific experience for anyone to go through. I hope the rest of their cruise is a lot less eventful

 

[KellysEye]

One of the 'rules' out here is don't anchor overnight on your own unless you really can't avoid it. It is a real shame it happened but if you break the 'rules'...

 

[tome]

Feel very sorry for them, it must be a dreadful situation to face. I hope they are able to recover and continue with their voyage

 

[Salty John]

Hi Thrall,

A tragic occurance and I really hope they can put it behind them and carry on with their dream. To let these [--word removed--] spoil the adventure of a lifetime would be adding insult to injury.

KellysEye: Rules? You think that we should have rules? You think that if we break the rules the bad guys get to roll us over? You don't think it might be the bad guys that are breaking the "rules"?

 

[MrCramp]

What a daft response to a sensible comment by KellsEye!

 

[KellysEye]

[ QUOTE ]
KellysEye: Rules? You think that we should have rules? You think that if we break the rules the bad guys get to roll us over? You don't think it might be the bad guys that are breaking the "rules"?

[/ QUOTE ]

Absolutely agree the bad guys are breaking the rules (of law). Frankly I'd hang anyone with three criminal convictions and make it retrospective. However since the low-lifes aren't going to go away anytime soon those of us who want to protect our lives and property have to live by an unwritten set of 'rules'. E.g. lock and alarm the boat, avoid certain areas, go in company with other yachts to certain areas, don't carry much cash, lift the dinghy on deck at night etc etc. It's much the same as living in any city really. Not to follow such self imposed 'rules' is, I suggest, foolish at best. The victims of this crime certainly have my sympathy but sadly there is a direct correlation between yacht crime victims and foolish behaviour.

 

[Guest]

here's another daft response to this thread..................

If you had left the word "yacht" out of the title, you would I am sure, have got a much bigger response! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

but yes, it behoves us all to take reasonable precautions, the world can be a wonderful place, but unfortunately, it has it's fair share of low lifes!

 

[nicho]

I'll bet they are just delighted to be alive right now. Others have not been so lucky.