Another Sad Case of 'Piracy' in St Vincent

[swagman]

Sadly picked up a mayday around midnight 48 hours back from a charter yacht that had been boarded, attacked, and robbed whilst anchored off Chateaubelair on St Vincent west coast.
The young couple issuing the mayday were underway after the attack so came and spent the night alongside us in Walliliabou.
Both very frightenened and lucky to have got away with machete cuts and bruises.
I've often argued against carrying guns when cruising, but being totally hoenst - would have loved one to help see us through the rest of that night when standing guard. I've put more details on our own blog if anyone wants more info.
Cheers
JOHN

[Hud3]

Too bad the young couple had their "dream vacation" ruined by thugs. Hope they can get over it and enjoy the great cruising in the Grenadines.

Chateaubelair has a terrible reputation. I don't know why the SVG government opened a customs/immigration office there, but seems to do nothing effective to ensure safety.

p.s. John, congratulations on your excellent finish in the ARC!

[David M]

What a dilemma...choosing between warding off dirt bags or possibly going to jail in some foreign country. Seems most agree with not carrying a gun...but still, there is a little to be said about being armed.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Hud3

Too bad the young couple had their "dream vacation" ruined by thugs.

don't let it ruin their "dream vacation"! Letting that happen would be a shame. So what if someone gets some goodies off the boat when they can be replaced. the boat is still there, and they are fortunatly not too badly injusted, although obviously they would be in shock. teach the thugs we can't be intimidated by carring and enjoying the dream!


marry Christmas

Mark

[Seeratlas]

In the islands power structure, only money is king. Perhaps the best way to deal with this is to put out the word for a boycott of the place. Once the money quits 'ka-ching' ing, the authorities will get motivated to do something, that's assuming they want to do something at all. Sure worked on the recent bahamas fishing regs when the tournament fishermen started cancelling.....

seer

[jdoe71]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

don't let it ruin their "dream vacation"!
Mark

How could it not? Can you not imagine the psychological impact of having that happen? It'd be no surprise if they never returned, and that's the biggest tragedy of all. They lose, the country it happened in loses, and eventually, if there's any justice, the bad guys lose as well.

Originally Posted by MarkJ

marry Christmas

Ah-h-h, pretty sure that Santa Claus already has a wife. wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

Merry Christmas back to ya!

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by jdoe71

How could it not? Can you not imagine the psychological impact of having that happen?

I know it would be very difficult. I'm not saying it would be easy to put it behind and carry on and enjoy. And, yes, it would never be the same. but there are many ways to deal with things, one way being a victim, and another way is to find a way to let it empower.
Maybe its a great time to see a psychologist quickly (instead of selling the boat and going home) and say: "We've been in this terrible situation, its devastated us, but we don't want it to ruin our dream. Give us a tool to get us back into our boat and enjoying it."
It might not all be perfect, but this is the expertise that a good psychologist might be able to help us with. Trauma counseling is something they all know Its worth a shot

Ah-h-h, pretty sure that Santa Claus already has a wife. wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

Merry Christmas back to ya!

Yikes! Freudian slip! Hope Nicolle doesn't read this! She'll be searching the tree for very small boxes!

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

don't let it ruin their "dream vacation"! Letting that happen would be a shame. So what if someone gets some goodies off the boat when they can be replaced. the boat is still there, and they are fortunatly not too badly injusted, although obviously they would be in shock. teach the thugs we can't be intimidated by carring and enjoying the dream!


marry Christmas

Mark

Geeez!, really??? Machete cuts and bruises and we'll just brush it off and go on our merry way? I would think anyone would be tramatized not knowing if they were going to live or die through that. It's a little more than shock me thinks.

[Kanani]

St Vincente has always been the arm-pit of the Caribbean. Why anyone would want to go there in the 1st place is beyond me (says a guy that's been there twice ).

The fact is, had the owners had a gun on board and shot one of those bastards, they would have gone to jail for life, if they even lived through the encounter in the 1st place (not a pretty jail either).

The authorities couldn't care less about the incident, I'm sure. In fact, their attitude would probably be something like...."Ah... you rich Americans deserve anything that happens to you". I can guaranty you that nothing will be done to aprehend the offenders. Never has....never will.

The last time that we were there, we ignored the "boat boys" that wanted to take out lines to the wall. In the middle of the night, out lines were cut. We left the next morning.

[Boracay]

Lots of reports of problems at Chateaubelair.

Report 1
Report 2
Report 3
Report 4
Report 5
Report 6

[dkall]

Might help if we all asked them about the incident. I emailed the tourist dept about it. St Vincent & The Grenadines One never knows but enough emails on the subject may help to get their attention! Maybe.

Fair Winds

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Boracay

Lots of reports of problems at Chateaubelair.

Report 1
Report 2
Report 3
Report 4
Report 5
Report 6

Report 1

BOARDED BY 3 MEN ARMED WITH 2 MACHETES & 1 PISTOL. 3 IN THE MORNING. 8 GUESTS ON BOARD. TOOK $600US. WENT TO SHORE NEXT MORNING TO REPORT & LOCALS DISCOURAGED THEM FROM REPORTING TO POLICE

Hmmmm...........

[Kanani]

Originally Posted by dkall

Might help if we all asked them about the incident. I emailed the tourist dept about it. St Vincent & The Grenadines One never knows but enough emails on the subject may help to get their attention! Maybe.

Fair Winds

The tourist dept isn't really concened about "Yacht traffic". They care about hotel and cruise ship traffic. I wouldn't waste my energy. This is truely a 3rd World Country. They just don't operate on the same priorities that you may be acustomed to. For the most part, you may give some of the employees a bit of ammusement. If that's your goal, go for it.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Geeez!, really??? Machete cuts and bruises and we'll just brush it off and go on our merry way?

Yes. Its called courage.

And no, its not easy. But if we threw in the towel the first time a bully hit us we would given life away in Kindy.


cour·age (kûr'ĭj, kŭr'-)
n.
The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery.

[shadow]

Were they on the hook or in marina or in the bay?? Was it day or night?? I guess regardless of the situation, it would suck in any condition!! Hate hearing news like that, but I guess it is still a fraction of the crimes on land.

Does anyone know of the actual ratio of boat owners vs. crime to home owners vs crime and the actual proportion?? I'd be curious to find out. It might be a case of deaths in air crashes vs. car crashes.