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Old 13-08-2018, 08:28   #1
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Windward Island Hell: It’s no longer a safe place to sail.

The ‘boat boys’ that so many folks advise on are now gangsters, thieves or worse. We took a 2 week bareboat charter trip down from St. Lucia to Grenada this spring and were: 1) constantly accosted by the extortionist boat boys [It's not like a couple of years ago...this is much worse …some of whom outright threatened us with harm if we didn’t hand over >$200US in exchange for ‘watching’ our boat, 2) we had to lock our boat up tight each night after retiring because twice we had men walking on deck in the middle of the night, 3) we witnessed a brazen theft on another non-charter boat in the middle of the day, when thieves smashed and grabbed the valuables while the owners stood by watching helpless on the beach, 4) we were aggressively chased by two small local boats in the middle of a day-long passage (they were not trying to sell us fish), 5) we were threatened to pay fees from folks who would show up with Moorings shirts in the middle of nowhere “you don’t want something to happen to your boat or crew” [we reported this to the charter company and they said that they were aware of this and that it was getting worse]. And on the front page of today's Washington Post, our experience was confirmed in a story about the resurgence of pirates from St. Lucia south.
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Old 13-08-2018, 08:53   #2
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Re: Windward Island Hell: It’s no longer a safe place to sail.

Wow...

Did they say what the local authorities are doing about it?
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Old 13-08-2018, 09:43   #3
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Re: Windward Island Hell: It’s no longer a safe place to sail.

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Wow...

Did they say what the local authorities are doing about it?
On small enough islands these "helpers" are most likely nephews and grandkids of those "authorities".
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Old 13-08-2018, 09:49   #4
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Re: Windward Island Hell: It’s no longer a safe place to sail.

That's very strange. We just had the opposite experience when we took a charter trip from St. Vincent down to Carriacou (about 2/3 of your journey) without any issues. We went in January, so a couple of months before you.

We found the boat boys to be very helpful when we wanted them and they were never a problem when we politely said we weren't interested in their services. Nobody ever came close to boarding our boat and we had no issues with security.

I wonder what caused you to have such a different experience. We may have just been lucky, of course.
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Old 13-08-2018, 12:18   #5
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Re: Windward Island Hell: It’s no longer a safe place to sail.

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I wonder what caused you to have such a different experience. We may have just been lucky, of course.
Or, just maybe, had a better attitude???

In our travels we have invariably found that people who are loyal followers of things like the Caribbean Safety And Security Net have the least fun, and are certainly the least fun to be around.

Of course, be careful and take normal security precautions, but remember that you will almost always do better in a strange place when you work with the locals and are not hostile to them as your default.
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Old 13-08-2018, 12:30   #6
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Re: Windward Island Hell: It’s no longer a safe place to sail.

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Or, just maybe, had a better attitude???
I think attitude goes a very, very long way when you're traveling, but of course, bad things can happen to anyone, so I don't know.

However, someone posted this on here a while ago and I love it:

The Two Travelers and the Farmer
A traveler came upon an old farmer hoeing in his field beside the road. Eager to rest his feet, the wanderer hailed the countryman, who seemed happy enough to straighten his back and talk for a moment. "What sort of people live in the next town?" asked the stranger.

"What were the people like where you've come from?" replied the farmer, answering the question with another question.

"They were a bad lot. Troublemakers all, and lazy too. The most selfish people in the world, and not a one of them to be trusted. I'm happy to be leaving the scoundrels."
"Is that so?" replied the old farmer. "Well, I'm afraid that you'll find the same sort in the next town.

Disappointed, the traveler trudged on his way, and the farmer returned to his work.
Some time later another stranger, coming from the same direction, hailed the farmer, and they stopped to talk. "What sort of people live in the next town?" he asked.

"What were the people like where you've come from?" replied the farmer once again.
"They were the best people in the world. Hard working, honest, and friendly. I'm sorry to be leaving them."

"Fear not," said the farmer. "You'll find the same sort in the next town."

From: https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/traveltales.html
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Old 13-08-2018, 13:09   #7
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Re: Windward Island Hell: It’s no longer a safe place to sail.

[QUOTE=billknny;2695421

Of course, be careful and take normal security precautions, but remember that you will almost always do better in a strange place when you work with the locals and are not hostile to them as your default.[/QUOTE]

What are "normal security precautions"?
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Old 13-08-2018, 14:03   #8
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Re: Windward Island Hell: It’s no longer a safe place to sail.

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Or, just maybe, had a better attitude???
Ah yes, blame the victim by suggesting that it might have been an imagined negative attitude that caused all the cited nasty things that occurred to him and others (all while simultaneously disregarding Washington Post reporting about the rise of piracy in the area). PS: I hope that this reply isn’t reflective of a negative attitude.
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Old 13-08-2018, 14:14   #9
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Re: Windward Island Hell: It’s no longer a safe place to sail.

I hope my comments were not perceived as victim blaming. That wasn't my intention.

As someone who might return to that area to cruise soon I'd love to have more details.

Where exactly did these things happen? I'm specifically curious about the night boarding and the break in you witnessed.
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Old 13-08-2018, 14:31   #10
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Re: Windward Island Hell: It’s no longer a safe place to sail.

Wow, us and several boat loads of friends just came thru the EC to WC, no one I know had these same issues. Of course we did avoid St Lucia,,, Maybe just really bad timing? But several of our friends had a great time in St lucia.
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Old 13-08-2018, 14:39   #11
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Re: Windward Island Hell: It’s no longer a safe place to sail.

I'm very curious as well. We are now in our 3rd season here and have not had ANY of those issues. Hell, we spent the entire season this year between Martinique and the Grenadines and just didn't see (or hear of) any of that. Sure there were boat boys, but none of them acted anything like described. They were always respectful and never super pushy. Actually we just had a cruiser get together where we discussed how much better they have been this year.

Did this stuff happen in a specific area? Maybe close to St. Vincent, or Canouan maybe?


I sure hope the OP actually spent the time and reported to the local authorities.
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Old 13-08-2018, 16:55   #12
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Re: Windward Island Hell: It’s no longer a safe place to sail.

*$200US to ‘watch’ our anchored boat. St. Lucia
*Man wearing Moorings shirt and claiming to be a representative demanding $150US as fee and using threats to boat and crew when we said no. St. Lucia
*Uninvited trespasser walking on deck at night. St. Lucia (anchored near the Pitons)
*Smash and grab theft and vandalization of long distance blue water cruisers in broad daylight: Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau
*Uninvited trespasser walking on deck at night. Sandy Island, Carriacou (note that a Discovery monohull moored next to us experience the same thing)
*2 boats pursuing us in open ocean (they changed course to follow after every tack). Miles off Ronde and Caille Islands.

These were all reported.
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Old 13-08-2018, 18:05   #13
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Re: Windward Island Hell: It’s no longer a safe place to sail.

That’s a real bummer. It sounds like three of these things happened in St Lucia. Our last trip was solely to the Grenadines where we had no issues.
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Old 13-08-2018, 19:38   #14
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Re: Windward Island Hell: It’s no longer a safe place to sail.

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What are "normal security precautions"?
Lock your dinghy. Lock your boat. Don't leave valuable stuff in plain sight. Don't be rude to the locals.

Kind of like you would do with your car and house ANYWHERE. The same rules have served us well all over the world.

Notice... the ONLY comments here from people who have BEEN THERE all say, "Wow, we where just there and didn't see any of that."

NOBODY has posted with, "Yes, we were just there and noticed the same terrible things!"

Why do YOU think that there is such a difference in experiences? Have the locals changed dramatically in the the last few weeks? I guess it is possible...but not likely.
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Old 13-08-2018, 19:40   #15
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Re: Windward Island Hell: It’s no longer a safe place to sail.

It’s been years since I was in St Vincent repairing their one and only crop duster, but I can tell you for sure, unless things have changed, St Vincent is not a place I will visit. You need to be careful there.
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