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belizesailor · 19-01-2018, 02:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by foufou

Half moon Key 54 miles off shore of Belize city was spectacular. Good visibility, good vibes.

Yes, Lighthouse Atoll is an incredible place...even if the great Blue Hole were not there.

belizesailor · 19-01-2018, 02:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Yup there are issues there but using common sense can help avoid most issues. Some cruisers have cut that corner pretty tight, others try to day sail it by stopping in some of the atolls and yes they were boarded and robbed. Cruising friends returning to the Bay Islands from the mainland in Honduras were boarded and robbed about 2 miles offshore of the mainland but everyone of those decisions was really unwise. The Bay Islands are probably safer than my home town so never a need to worry here but the mainland of Honduras is a different story. When we sailed from Providencia to the Bay Islands we purposely passed the Nicaraguan/ Honduras coast at night about 60 miles offshore with no lights and no AIS on. We rounded the top corner just at day break and had an uneventful sail to Guanaja. Most of the boardings have been fishermen in small open boats so meeting one or more of these 60 plus miles offshore on a windy night is really rare in my opinion. Yup for sure it adds to your passage times but so what, pretty small stuff in the whole scheme of things. These trips are taken on a regular basis by cruisers going both ways and I haven't heard of someone well offshore that got into trouble.

However, during the past year the bad guys on the Nica Banks have stepped up their game. There have been several events that certainly qualify as full on piracy (not just opportunistic fishermen)...multiple pangas, heavily armed men, mother ship, etc.

Thats a whole different ball game.

robert sailor · 19-01-2018, 06:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by belizesailor

However, during the past year the bad guys on the Nica Banks have stepped up their game. There have been several events that certainly qualify as full on piracy (not just opportunistic fishermen)...multiple pangas, heavily armed men, mother ship, etc.

Thats a whole different ball game.

Yes I know, one case involved many boats and armed men but I'm not aware of this happening well offshore, are You? The one case im thinking of was closer in.My friend who was boarded by 6 guys, 2 armed with firearms and the rest machete types.
Again this was within a few miles of shore. Coming from the Rio this year the direct path takes you within 10 or 12 miles, we decided to move that out to minimum 20 miles so threw in a dog leg. Normally I prefer to sail from Belize to get a better wind angle but this year we have had so many cold fronts that sailing direct was a good option. Funny thing is I really don't worry about it too much, I still believe if you take certain precautions that you can reduce the risk down to acceptable levels.

belizesailor · 19-01-2018, 09:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Yes I know, one case involved many boats and armed men but I'm not aware of this happening well offshore, are You? The one case im thinking of was closer in.My friend who was boarded by 6 guys, 2 armed with firearms and the rest machete types.
Again this was within a few miles of shore. Coming from the Rio this year the direct path takes you within 10 or 12 miles, we decided to move that out to minimum 20 miles so threw in a dog leg. Normally I prefer to sail from Belize to get a better wind angle but this year we have had so many cold fronts that sailing direct was a good option. Funny thing is I really don't worry about it too much, I still believe if you take certain precautions that you can reduce the risk down to acceptable levels. [emoji2]

From the Rio to the Bay Islands I would give Punta Sal a very wide berth...there have been several boardings there of boats underway...dont know distances off. Makes going up to Belize and then to Bay Islands an appealing idea.

Re Nica Banks issues, dont know the exact distances off, but my impression was along the usual cruiser route. Will look up again and see if there is more specific info.

belizesailor · 19-01-2018, 09:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by belizesailor

From the Rio to the Bay Islands I would give Punta Sal a very wide berth...there have been several boardings there of boats underway...dont know distances off. Makes going up to Belize and then to Bay Islands an appealing idea.

Re Nica Banks issues, dont know the exact distances off, but my impression was along the usual cruiser route. Will look up again and see if there is more specific info.

Looked up on CSSN. All reported events on the Nica Banks were 30 or more miles off the Nica mainland. About 70 miles off in one case.

They have a map which shows the reported events and you can click to get the details on a specific event.

See:
https://safetyandsecuritynet.org/zoo...sessment-tool/

robert sailor · 19-01-2018, 09:57

Well I guess it's better to go a hundred off in that area now...yes Punta Sal is where we were the furthest off.

model 10 · 19-01-2018, 10:20

From that map I see people are not listening. 10 years ago you needed to sail out to the Vivarillos for some comfort. Boats heading east into the wind, then cutting the corner and getting too close to shore were being robbed back then and probably before that. Sailing east from Roatan etc. looks to be hard sometimes. Coming fom the south there isn't much excuse for getting to close to land.