Piracy in the Caribbean? Real or No?

[little boat]

in response to camraderie, i would like to stick up for st vincent, which is an island that has long been feared by 'cruisers' as crimeridden. much of this, i think is due to the isolation of the anchorages there, (excluding the blue lagoon, which has in the past had petty criminals) which allows an opportunity for evil to go unwitnessed. there is no friendlier, more gorgeous island in the entire caribbean chain. what about the german man who used this steriotype to murder his wife in st vincent and then claim they were borded and attacked by locals? a bit of cash and he was set free.
perspective is everything.
what could i say to the young local man in bequia who i invited onboard for dinner and he said he was too AFRAID to come aboard because a white trash 'cruising lady' had just shot and killed a local man; a crime i might add for which she was never tried.

[ssullivan]

My time in the Caribbean was spent working aboard a 100 foot megayacht. I felt this made me quite a target. I was witness to a few attempted petty thefts, and that's about it. Usually, if you are in a marina, you are pretty well protected from this stuff. The owners like to have repeat customers at the marinas/resorts.

One of the main things is not to look to "fancy." Don't walk around with your Prada bag or expensive watches and jewlery. Look poor and you'll get more respect anyway.

I have to say that the attitude of most I met ashore was very positive when they figured out that I was just some poor SOB like them working my butt off, and not a guest or owner of a huge yacht.

In fact, they became very chummy and fun to hang around with when they found out I was working with the tourists, just like they do.

So... be a common person and don't be flashy. You'll be just fine taking the precautions people mention with your tender and items on deck so long as you are "real" and down to Earth. They can smell an elitist gringo a mile away.

[AnchorageGuy]

jack, You will find more pirates in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale then in the Caribbean. I sincerely hope you don't plan to make that trip in a McGregor 25. I know that boat quite well and it is strictly a protected waters vessel. It was never built to be exposed to the potential weather and seas you can encounter on that trip.

[hellosailor]

"Don't walk around with your Prada bag or expensive watches and jewlery."
Good joke, Sean! Of course we all know, the really rich folks have SERVANTS to follow them, or drive them, around carrying the bag and watch.< G >

[CSY Man]

The Bahamas stretch for hundreds of miles. The water is clear, the people are friendly, the snorkling is superb, the sailing is good, and navigation presents enough challenges to hone your skills. A great place to introduce your bride to simple pleasures, and to test yourselves before deciding on a longer and more difficult trip.

Well said and I agree 100%....

[CSY Man]

jack, You will find more pirates in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale then in the Caribbean.

Hmm, not my experience...

Sure there is bad neigborhoods in any big town in the US and in the wrong corner of the city ya may be in trouble, but as far as PIRATES, not common around here.

The biggest danger in these waters is to be run down at night by some drunk boater in a 30 Knot Sport-fish, Formula or Cigarette type boat if ya are anchored without bright lights shining.

In general, the big islands in the Caribe have more crime than than the small islands : St. Thomas Vs. Anegada.
Trinidad Vs. Tobago, etc.

Plenty of nice and safe places, but there is some trouble spots where the natives are restless.

[Chuteman]

LB - don't think the intent is ever to unfairly disparage any host country especially a beautiful island like St. Vincent where some very nice people live. But it is naive & dangerous to ignor the reality that crime including violent attacks do really happen on St. Vincent as well as many places including too many here in the USA.
Here's another St. V example:
Caribbean Net News: American visitors raped in St Vincent

As guests / tourists, we are often at a disadvantage by not knowing the specific landscape, signals & culture plus distracted by the beauty + trying to enjoy a vacation/visit. Yes, simple awareness & protection steps can avoid many minor events but to then proceed thinking that no real danger exists is playing blind craps.

I like another description of danger in the Caribbean that I read on the board (I think) = it's a matter of numbers. The larger the populations on a particular island the higher the potential for serious crime.

Coupled with economic conditions, social issues, gov't attitudes, lack of police resources, etc and you have an environment that you must be alert and take all the prudent steps to protect yourself, crew & yacht.

I want to be informed rather than surprised. It won't cause me to skip St. Vincent (been before) but it will help me take appropriate steps. Just like I would traveling here in USA.

[Wirsegeln]

Jack I found this site (see URL below) that deals with piracy worldwide. I don't know how accurate they are, but I found it by reading the Piracy Report in the "Latitudes & Attitudes" magazine.

Here is the URL IMB Piracy Reporting Centre contact details

Hope this helps
Fritz

[camaraderie]

LB...in general I think the caribe is as safe as anywhere. I don't think it is a small thing when 60 medical school students decide to leave a country in mid-semester due to the danger. This goes beyond the normal dinghy theft and petty thievery one has to be prepared for.
Like all things...these situations tend to resolve over time but in the meantime I felt it was prudent to advise those considering a visit on a CURRENT situation rather than re-hash old news or fears. Do you think that father would have left his girls alone on the mountain if he had read my note?

[GordMay]

Somewhere in America, a woman is raped every 2 minutes, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
An American woman is 10 times more likely to be raped, than to die in a car crash.

Sexual Assaults in Philadephia, PA, USA
July 1, 2002 - June 30, 2003
(Source: Women Organized Against Rape - Local and National Statistics)
Total Sexual Assaults - 1241 in one American city, over one year.

[camaraderie]

Hmmm...the Philidelphia police departments report to the FBI listsTotal Philadelphia MSA 138 rapes/attempted rapes in 2006 and 132 in 2005
Philadelphia Police Department :: Crime Statistics

Wonder if there is an agenda at work here?
In a population of over 1.5 million...that works out to .0092%
10 rapes a year would be the equivilent level of violence on St. vincent.
I know of 6 now within the last month or two. But I would be happy to say that St. Vincent is about as safe as Philadelphia and you should conduct yourself on that basis if you choose to visit.

[hellosailor]

Be careful of police stats from Philly. IIRC about five years ago there was a big scandal because the Philly PD got caught intentionally downgrading incident reports to make it look like major crime had dropped, when it hadn't.

[GordMay]

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program:
Forcible Rape - Crime in the United States 2005

”... The rate of forcible rapes in 2005 was estimated at 62.5 offenses per 100,000 female inhabitants, a 2.0 percent decrease when compared to the 2004 estimate of 63.8 forcible rapes per 100,000 female inhabitants...”

Statistics Canada reports a rate of 63 sexual assaults per 100,000/total population, in the Province of Ontario, for the year 2003. This represents roughly double the US rate.
Goto page 25:
http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collectio...85-205-XIE.pdf

According to USDOJ “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices” Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

”... During the year the police received 78 reports of rape; 31 of these were prosecuted and 47 were still under investigation at the end of the year ...”

With a population of 118,149 (CIA estimate: July 2007*), St. Vincent and the Grenadines seems to have a rape rate (66/100,000), similar to North American Statistics.

* Isn’t it just amazing what the CIA can do?

Disclaimer: The above statistics are offered for a gross comparison only. None of these statistics should be understood to be “hard” numbers. There are too many differences in the manner in which crime is reported and rates calculated to make scientifically accurate cross-country comparisons.

[slomotion]

Not gonna touch the crime/piracy issue. But I agree with Bill about the route. The problem with going west is that once you clear the Keys you have a multi-day passage to Isla Mujeres - if anything goes wrong, your 'safe harbor' is Cuba. This is a common route used by many people, but it's probably not their first ever passage.

OTOH, if you pick your weather window carefully, the Bahamas are an easy overnight sail or motor/sail away. Once you're safely anchored in paradise, there is absolutely no reason to move unless conditions are favorable or about to change and threaten your shelter.

Go slow and forget the agenda/itinerary. Be flexible and if you have a time limit, then your only goal should be to wind up wherever favorable conditions and comfort level take you. There is no good reason to cruise these waters unless you're going to do it leisurely. If you impose some sort of schedule or itinerary, you will wind up setting out in iffy conditions and sailing in very bad ones.

[camaraderie]

OK..so St. Vincents rape rate is like Americas average. I guess that means we should not pick on St. vincent cause we are no better. The good thing about the USA is that you can choose to live or visit in places that do not do much to contribute to the average and avoid those that do. I don't know where you would do that on St. vincent.