Pirates
- Thread starter Phoenix of Hamble
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Rum_Pirate
Well-Known Member
Shocking, frightening and deeply disturbing.
It only takes a couple of stupid idiots to do something like that with the result that an islands fragile economy can be severely damaged, if not destroyed completely as far a the yachting fraternity is concerned.
I hope that they are OK.
I hope that they catch the scum and deal with them properly.
It only takes a couple of stupid idiots to do something like that with the result that an islands fragile economy can be severely damaged, if not destroyed completely as far a the yachting fraternity is concerned.
I hope that they are OK.
I hope that they catch the scum and deal with them properly.
pvb
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
It only takes a couple of stupid idiots to do something like that with the result that an islands fragile economy can be severely damaged, if not destroyed completely as far a the yachting fraternity is concerned.
[/ QUOTE ]It's not just the yachting fraternity. Some years ago, my wife and I were robbed by a machete-wielding local in St Lucia. Driving through a banana plantation, we'd had to slow right down to negotiate a slippery hairpin bend in our rented jeep, and he ran after us and jumped in the open back. Very unpleasant experience! And we'd never, ever, go back and spend our tourist dollars in St Lucia.
But, as I recall, your experience a year or so ago when Mr Sweeney broke in was rather worse. At least he's no longer around.
It only takes a couple of stupid idiots to do something like that with the result that an islands fragile economy can be severely damaged, if not destroyed completely as far a the yachting fraternity is concerned.
[/ QUOTE ]It's not just the yachting fraternity. Some years ago, my wife and I were robbed by a machete-wielding local in St Lucia. Driving through a banana plantation, we'd had to slow right down to negotiate a slippery hairpin bend in our rented jeep, and he ran after us and jumped in the open back. Very unpleasant experience! And we'd never, ever, go back and spend our tourist dollars in St Lucia.
But, as I recall, your experience a year or so ago when Mr Sweeney broke in was rather worse. At least he's no longer around.
Rum_Pirate
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure about worse.
If I had done nothing he would have gone out the window and nothing would have happened apart for the burglary (happens all over the world).
I had pulled the scum back inside with the intention to adminsister some long lasting physical therapy.
Glad it worked out the way it did. He was HIV positive and I think that my knuckles would have been severley damaged by the administration of the physical therapy had stopped (ie I 'd have run out of energy).
T'was not to be thankfully.'
I'm off to the beach now to have a few /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
If I had done nothing he would have gone out the window and nothing would have happened apart for the burglary (happens all over the world).
I had pulled the scum back inside with the intention to adminsister some long lasting physical therapy.
Glad it worked out the way it did. He was HIV positive and I think that my knuckles would have been severley damaged by the administration of the physical therapy had stopped (ie I 'd have run out of energy).
T'was not to be thankfully.'
I'm off to the beach now to have a few /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
FAITIRA
Well-Known Member
In 98 friends of ours were similarly robbed in Venazuala and same year a woman was chopped up on a beach in Red Bay,USVI by a mad black druggie while we were there, we haven,t been tempted to go back!
LadyJessie
Well-Known Member
I have heard several horrible stories lately like the ones above, but they are all happening in St Lucia and St Vincent. Is it your experience that the troubles are mainly contained there or has it spread?
The reason why I ask is that I cruised a lot around the Carib around ten years ago, and already then these islands were a bit 'iffy' but no real problem if you handled yourself smartly. I never felt a problem on any of the other islands. Has things changed? Is this a St Lucia and St Vincent problem?
The reason why I ask is that I cruised a lot around the Carib around ten years ago, and already then these islands were a bit 'iffy' but no real problem if you handled yourself smartly. I never felt a problem on any of the other islands. Has things changed? Is this a St Lucia and St Vincent problem?
pvb
Well-Known Member
Don't know. We've been to quite a few Caribbean islands, and St Lucia was the only one where we were unsettled. But these places depend largely on tourism today and, if tourists don't return, the consequences for the local economy are potentially serious.
Oliveoyl
Well-Known Member
Also read Swagman's sad tale, and also the Rodney Bay rape story last year. Dilemma - n° 2 daughter (pirate queen) had persuaded us to do 2 weeks Carib cruise in spring 2009. She really dreams of white beaches, turquoise seas and palm trees.
However:
the 2 episodes above are really scary
the tourist guide books are not very encouraging
friends who did Martinique / St Lucie this year (with experienced Carib cruisers) hardly set foot on land in 2 weeks, and ate out once.
So, should we forget the Carib, and stick with tried + tested east Med / Adriatic?
However:
the 2 episodes above are really scary
the tourist guide books are not very encouraging
friends who did Martinique / St Lucie this year (with experienced Carib cruisers) hardly set foot on land in 2 weeks, and ate out once.
So, should we forget the Carib, and stick with tried + tested east Med / Adriatic?
Rum_Pirate
Well-Known Member
Try chartering in the Grenadines or in the BVI. I think you would enjoy the BVI. I've sailed there on Kate.
PS The BVI are much much nicer than the USVI which are more like mainland USA than the Caribbean.
PS The BVI are much much nicer than the USVI which are more like mainland USA than the Caribbean.
Bajansailor
Well-Known Member
Olive, I will echo the (Rum!) Pirate's thoughts above, and add that the Grenadines are really quite idyllic sailing grounds really - inter island passages are long enough to be a challenge (some of the longer ones can be 10 - 15 miles) without becoming tedious, and it is open ocean between the islands, hence lots of spray to keep you cool if the tradewinds are blowing......
Here is a typical Grenadine anchorage (the Tobago Cays) :
Re the sad story above re the incident at Chateaubelair, all I can say is that reports like this do not happen too often thankfully.
I am not offering an excuse here, just an opinion - the villains involved were most probably stoked up on ganja (the principal cash crop of the island), and while it is supposed to have a mellowing effect on one, I have been told that it can have the extreme opposite in many people when they use it.
I am hoping that the SVG authorities will now show that they mean business and effectively demonstrate that they have the capability to deal with villains such as these.
It would probably be sensible for yachts visiting isolated anchorages overnight in St Lucia and especially in St Vincent to ensure that they are not alone.
(I wonder what happened to the other yacht anchored in Chateaubelair that night? I hope they were OK).
Although not impossible, the chances of such an incident happening in eg Bequia would be much less, especially as there are so many other yachts in the anchorage at Port Elizabeth at this time of year.
What is worrying though is that the attacked yacht was reported to be locked, yet the pirates were threatening to start shooting unless the hatches were unlocked.
In general, despite reports like the one mentioned above, it is my (humble) opinion that a sailing holiday in the islands is probably still much safer than say a holiday in New York at this time of year.
It looks like everybody has to do their own 'risk assessment' now to assess suitability of every form of leisure activity.
Here is what Chris Doyle has to say about St Vincent :
http://www.doyleguides.com/stvincent.html
There is lots more useful info on his site as well, including updates and feedback from cruisers.
Here is a typical Grenadine anchorage (the Tobago Cays) :
Re the sad story above re the incident at Chateaubelair, all I can say is that reports like this do not happen too often thankfully.
I am not offering an excuse here, just an opinion - the villains involved were most probably stoked up on ganja (the principal cash crop of the island), and while it is supposed to have a mellowing effect on one, I have been told that it can have the extreme opposite in many people when they use it.
I am hoping that the SVG authorities will now show that they mean business and effectively demonstrate that they have the capability to deal with villains such as these.
It would probably be sensible for yachts visiting isolated anchorages overnight in St Lucia and especially in St Vincent to ensure that they are not alone.
(I wonder what happened to the other yacht anchored in Chateaubelair that night? I hope they were OK).
Although not impossible, the chances of such an incident happening in eg Bequia would be much less, especially as there are so many other yachts in the anchorage at Port Elizabeth at this time of year.
What is worrying though is that the attacked yacht was reported to be locked, yet the pirates were threatening to start shooting unless the hatches were unlocked.
In general, despite reports like the one mentioned above, it is my (humble) opinion that a sailing holiday in the islands is probably still much safer than say a holiday in New York at this time of year.
It looks like everybody has to do their own 'risk assessment' now to assess suitability of every form of leisure activity.
Here is what Chris Doyle has to say about St Vincent :
http://www.doyleguides.com/stvincent.html
There is lots more useful info on his site as well, including updates and feedback from cruisers.
Troutbridge
Well-Known Member
Whilst I have every sympathy for the victims of this attack, I find it somewhat pathetic that people immediately start posting comments along the lines of 'this might change my plans/I wouldn't go there' etc etc. So where else might we not go for fear of attack? Manchester, Liverpool, London~anywhere in the UK on a saturday night? With gun/knife crime on the increase 'I wouldn't go to the UK'. With the possibility of being locked up for 28 days with no idea why 'I wouldn't go to the UK'.
As I said,I have every sympathy for the victims of any crime but no patience with those who immediately seem to go into panic mode. I'll be cruising in the caribbean in 2009 and hopefully the Pacific in 2010. I'll 'tune into the local grapevine' wherever I am and take what I feel is appropriate personal security measures, but I'm still going. I spend a pleasant nine months in the caribbean in the mid-nineties. There were horror stories then and there were areas in every island that one sensibly avoided but by and large the fear of crime was more than the actual reality.
As I said,I have every sympathy for the victims of any crime but no patience with those who immediately seem to go into panic mode. I'll be cruising in the caribbean in 2009 and hopefully the Pacific in 2010. I'll 'tune into the local grapevine' wherever I am and take what I feel is appropriate personal security measures, but I'm still going. I spend a pleasant nine months in the caribbean in the mid-nineties. There were horror stories then and there were areas in every island that one sensibly avoided but by and large the fear of crime was more than the actual reality.
philiphenson
Member
We went on the Sunsail flotilla from St. Vincent down to Grenada and back last summer. Beautiful islands but the most miserable bunch of unfriendly locals I have ever come across. They have such a huge chip on their shoulders, lying petty swindling and overcharging are commonplace. I really don’t think it is worth going here; there are many nice places in the world where the locals welcome you. A common ploy seems to be to hang around in the shops and listen to what you are asking for. When something is not available, you are then asked by a seemingly helpful man if you want it brought to your boat. If you say yes a lot of unpleasantness results when they try to charge you $20 US for a stale loaf!
Grenada was not much better. if you remember aid agencies were apalled to find when they went to help after the hurricane that the locals sat around drinking beer and let them do all the work!
Grenada was not much better. if you remember aid agencies were apalled to find when they went to help after the hurricane that the locals sat around drinking beer and let them do all the work!
philiphenson
Member
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