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Old 31-01-2009, 03:16   #1
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Antigua Question

Thinking of making my first excursion to the Caribbean and really want to stop at Antigua. Heard a recent report of a captain being shot onshore and have done a bit of research (that's how I found this site) to get an idea of the general crime situation onshore but couldn't find much about offshore. Has anyone had any bad run-ins while anchored or sailing offshore Antigua? Are breaks-ins while docking overnight common? I have read about some of attacks further south near St. Vincent and Margarita Island which got me a bit spooked. I can't find anything that would indicate that I have much to worry about near Antigua but I just wanted to check to see if those of you with a bit more experience have any advice or insight you could offer.

Thank you very much,

Art
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Old 31-01-2009, 03:44   #2
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Hello, Art, and welcome to Cruisers Forum!

I've done some cruising up and down the islands, and have been to Antigua a few times. I'm not aware of any crime against cruisers on Antigua. The incident that you refer to is considered to be a "street crime" that could happen to anyone walking around after dark. He was not targeted because he was a yacht captain.

It happened in an area frequented by yachties, and so is cause for concern, without question. But if you want to visit Antigua, I wouldn't let it deter you. Prudent safety measures like locking up, and being careful where you go should do the trick. We've been to all the islands in the Lesser Antilles but three, and the only place that I would not anchor overnight is Chateaubelair, in St. Vincent. Antigua has some beautiful small bays and islands ringing it's northern and eastern coasts--well worth exploring, along with the busier English Harbour/Falmouth Bay area.
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Old 31-01-2009, 04:06   #3
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You'll only get aneddotal accounts here. I spent months in Antigua EH even left my boat there for a few weeks and never saw crime.

Where is there no crime? What you tend to read about are the nasty events and not the odd break ins where no one was hurt.

My experience down there was mostly in the mid 90s though I did a delivery several years ago and it seemed much the same to me aside from development in Falmouth.

The infamous boat boats were not seen in Antigua as they were in Dominica and St Lucia, but even these fellas seemed to be only looking to aggressively sell bananas.

I suppose if someone was robbed at island X they would consider a nest of criminal activity.

Any sort of tourism is grating to a poor population and some take "advantage" of it in non traditional and antisocial ways.

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Old 31-01-2009, 07:43   #4
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A. C,
Spent 10 days in May '07 hitting every anchorage (some remote & very beautiful) area in Antigua & Barbuda and never got a sense of danger. In some cases, we were one of a couple boats and a few with < 20 yachts plus a couple we were alone.

On land is another thing - there are definitely areas (ie; St. John the capital and others) + characters that you want to avoid especially late evening when the crowds dwindle. The recent events beginning with last summer's shooting of honeymoon couple in their hotel room and the ending with the shooting of the Captain while walking certainly encourages vigilance but I would go & sail again.

Other islands (ie; St. Vincent - mainland, St. Lucia, Trinidad) have a much tougher & risky reputation.

Sources for more info & comparison:
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Old 31-01-2009, 07:45   #5
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Go to Catalina

much safer there. I know, wrong ocean. Hey how do we start a new thread?
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