Piracy Honduras

[jackdale]

I can find one news story

Calgary couple survives pirate attack on sailing trip in Honduras - Calgary - CBC News

Anyone else have anything additional.

[ontherocks83]

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ed-143955.html



and...... ready, set,

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by jackdale

I can find one news story

Calgary couple survives pirate attack on sailing trip in Honduras - Calgary - CBC News

Anyone else have anything additional.

Feel the love?
https://youtu.be/vo9AH4vG2wA

[Prairie Chicken]

OK, so I think there are three threads on this now ....

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Prairie Chicken

OK, so I think there are three threads on this now ....

Mods, can you merge?

[zeehag]

ok so they have been put off from sailing. ok.
but despite their research allegedly undergone prior to their ill fated trip is it and could it be actually true that tbey had NO CLUE of the historic danger i that area.

mebbe they were out to make a misadventure by playing in pirateville.
recent as well as past dangers are listed in more than one research source.
i guess those are not read much anymore.

mebbe they just didnt and do not know geography. but i thought that was taught in canadian gradeschools as well as in usa ones

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by zeehag

ok so they have been put off from sailing. ok.
but despite their research allegedly undergone prior to their ill fated trip is it and could it be actually true that tbey had NO CLUE of the historic danger i that area.

mebbe they were out to make a misadventure by playing in pirateville.
recent as well as past dangers are listed in more than one research source.
i guess those are not read much anymore.

mebbe they just didnt and do not know geography. but i thought that was taught in canadian gradeschools as well as in usa ones

Or... it could be they're related to GDubYa.. or went to the same classes.

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Or... it could be they're related to GDubYa.. or went to the same classes.

You love your red beret don't you, Boatman. Bush was certainly no Rhodes Scholar but he was honest enough to release his grades to the public. We still have no report on "O The Untouchable." I guess that's what they call Truth and Transparency or "Change You Can Believe In." This, to the political detractors, IS boating related since "O" crossed the Pacific to finish his schooling! I heard he surfed the whole distance wearing a backpack and without a break. Perhaps he was following some sort of smoky contrail. Good Luck, good sailing, may the power of the Little Red Book live with you forever. R

[skipmac]

According to a couple of web sites I have read in the past, Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world. Even if most of that is focused on local gang wars and not all against tourists I still would not consider cruising anywhere in the area.

Just a little research before the trip could have informed them of the potential.

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by skipmac

According to a couple of web sites I have read in the past, Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world. Even if most of that is focused on local gang wars and not all against tourists I still would not consider cruising anywhere in the area.

Just a little research before the trip could have informed them of the potential.

The islands of Utilla and Roatan are safe havens in an otherwise sketchy country. I've been to both San Jose and Roatan and there's a world of difference!

[model 10]

You will have a hard time avoiding this area if you cruise the north west Caribbean. The cruising grounds for Roatan and the Bay Islands, parts of Belize and the Rio Dulce all are right there. It would be awfully hard to get to the Rio from the south without sailing past the north coast of Honduras. In a way it would be a minor version of the Horn of Africa.
Word is, the US military has a base in Honduras now, maybe they should provide a little protection duty for all the gringos. There are a LOT of gringo's and sailboats here. A few poor fishermen getting blasted by gunboats should cure the problem.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by cwyckham

The islands of Utilla and Roatan are safe havens in an otherwise sketchy country. I've been to both San Jose and Roatan and there's a world of difference!

So I have heard. How long since you have been there? Seems like the crime rate has only been really bad for the last few years.

Seems like Roatan is (or has been?) a major destination for diving. However only 20-40 miles off the coast. Not that far for a determined bandit with a panga.

I would think twice and research very carefully before going anywhere close to Honduras, even to the islands.

[Jon Eisberg]

Originally Posted by skipmac

So I have heard. How long since you have been there? Seems like the crime rate has only been really bad for the last few years.

Seems like Roatan is (or has been?) a major destination for diving. However only 20-40 miles off the coast. Not that far for a determined bandit with a panga.

I would think twice and research very carefully before going anywhere close to Honduras, even to the islands.

Yeah, not sure I'd consider Utila to be much of a "safe haven", any spot that has long been known among cruisers as "Burglary Bay" might give one a clue :-)

As mentioned in one of the other several threads on this incident, anyone who's been paying any attention to sources like Noonsite or the Caribbean Safety and Security Net would know the passage from Utila to Livingston and the Rio Dulce should be considered an extremely risky one, and that Punta Sal should be given an extremely wide berth...

The Water Cays were a pretty nice spot, a laid back feeling, I didn't feel like there was much risk there... A dicey anchorage, however, I spent a nerve-wracking night there when a series of violent squalls moved thru...




The main harbor at Utila, however, you can have it... I'll never go back, WAY too many more appealing places to cruise, for me... Aside from the security concerns, the only place I've ever been that had louder music from shore at night was Port Antonio, Jamaica... In Utila, I don't think I ever managed to fall asleep before 3 or 4 AM... :-)

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Jon Eisberg

Yeah, not sure I'd consider Utila to be much of a "safe haven", any spot that has long been known among cruisers as "Burglary Bay" might give one a clue :-)

As mentioned in one of the other several threads on this incident, anyone who's been paying any attention to sources like Noonsite or the Caribbean Safety and Security Net would know the passage from Utila to Livingston and the Rio Dulce should be considered an extremely risky one, and that Punta Sal should be given an extremely wide berth...
...

The "Burglary Bay" moniker is a bit dated for Utila. That was put to an end a number of years ago and to my knowledge there haven't been any significant problems since. I was there in 2011 & 2012 and there were no current problems. Spent several days in the main anchorage at Utila. Agree not the best, but Utila is a fun funky little island to explore...rented an ATV and rode all over the island.

The Bay Islands are culturally different than mainland Honduras...just ask any Bay Islander...many still think of themselves as English and blame crime problems on the Spanish from the mainland.

The Bay Islands are not totally without trouble (see past reports on sites referenced above), but much less risky than mainland Honduras. Guanaja in particular is an unlikely place to have problems. There has been one attack ever on a cruising boat there that I know of and the local authorities apprehended the guys before they managed to get off the island (obviously not the brightest guys to comit a crime on a very small island).

I plan to sail back home to the Rio in another season or two and pass thru the Bay Islands again, but will take a more northerly route from there...probably up to Belize first and then down the Belizean coast to the Rio.

[avb3]

Video interview of the couple who were attacked.


http://globalnews.ca/news/1938374/ca...tory-on-video/

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