Violent attack, Cruisers injured, St Vincent & Grenadines, Union Island

[minaret]

So the crew fended off the armed boarder by stabbing him with a kitchen knife. Amazing what people will step up and do when they must. Anyone still think my big ass knife which screws on to the end of a boat hook pole is nuts?

[poiu]

Originally Posted by minaret

So the crew fended off the armed boarder by stabbing him with a kitchen knife. Amazing what people will step up and do when they must. Anyone still think my big ass knife which screws on to the end of a boat hook pole is nuts?

I'll be ready for them:

[s/v Jedi]

With all the mocking, judging etc., it looks like we're back to the old wolves, sheep and sheepdogs again, so the last thing I'll say is that it doesn't matter what you plan to use to defend your family and yourself with or even put up no defense at all... as long as you think it over and make your plan on what to do in the situation. Sadly, 90% of the cruisers refuse to think about it and thus have no clue what to do when it matters.

[JPA Cate]

A little artistic license, perhaps, with the statistics, Jedi.

Anyhow, Mark, excellent post, and wonderful to read. Thanks for posting it.

[sck5]

On the Dominica boat boys - Last time I was there (two years ago now) they were quite well organized. Each boat was met by whichever boat boy's turn it was and there was no swarming or hassling. I found it expedient to tip the guy for helping me find a place to anchor and then told him I was happy and didnt need/want anything. He left me alone and so did all the others. The time before that I got a ride over to customs and then into town and then back to the boat because I was feeling lazy and didnt want to unstrap my dink. It was cheap and hassle free. Maybe it has deteriorated since then?

[Group9]

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

Since some of you are so freaked about terminology Minaret didnt call it an Assault Rifle, the Huffington post did. So did I. Sorry to have left out the word "LIKE" out. Using a bazooka to hunt deer doesnt make it a deer gun, but thanks for your long a$$ diatribe thread drift explaining so...

It's like non-sailors calling a "sloop" a "ketch" or calling the "mainsail" a "spinnaker". To them, they look like the same thing, and have the same purpose, but to sailors, they look, and are, very different.

[Astrid]

Originally Posted by poiu

I'll be ready for them:

me too!

[Neo]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Hi,

They are doing very well.
I was with them yesterday and some naughty lady had something in her drink that the doctor didn't prescribe! I'll bet it was the best medicine yet!!

For the second time I shook Marks hand too strongly; and gave Tina my bear-hug and pat on the back... nearly popping the stitches there!

They both had big broad smiles and cracking jokes like normal. Tina wasn't wearoing any bandage over her face so it was great to see she wasn't shy of showing it, but also the wound looks terrific, swelling comeing down, stitches look great, no redness, no teeth damage. Mark looks worse, actually, because he has stitches in his hair and on his chin so as the bears starts to grow and the hair grow he is looking like Rambo in the jungle. Girls prolly think he's lookin cute

So they are both going great, terrific attitude, looking ahead! Inspiring stuff. Really

Excellent! Thanks for the report. No dental damage. That is great.

[sailpower]

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

Since some of you are so freaked about terminology Minaret didnt call it an Assault Rifle, the Huffington post did. So did I. Sorry to have left out the word "LIKE" out. Using a bazooka to hunt deer doesnt make it a deer gun, but thanks for your long a$$ diatribe thread drift explaining so...

Freaked out? Bazooka? Long a$$ diatribe?

That's pretty much a total mischaracterization of anything that I wrote or the topic in general.

We were asked to not make this a gun thread so I won't say anything further on that except to point out that I was not the one who started this thread in that direction.

Glad to hear that this is all working out for the couple attacked.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Hi,

They are doing very well.
I was with them yesterday and some naughty lady had something in her drink that the doctor didn't prescribe! I'll bet it was the best medicine yet!!

For the second time I shook Marks hand too strongly; and gave Tina my bear-hug and pat on the back... nearly popping the stitches there!

They both had big broad smiles and cracking jokes like normal. Tina wasn't wearoing any bandage over her face so it was great to see she wasn't shy of showing it, but also the wound looks terrific, swelling comeing down, stitches look great, no redness, no teeth damage. Mark looks worse, actually, because he has stitches in his hair and on his chin so as the bears starts to grow and the hair grow he is looking like Rambo in the jungle. Girls prolly think he's lookin cute

So they are both going great, terrific attitude, looking ahead! Inspiring stuff. Really

Thanks so much for the update. We can be victims of crime anywhere; I think we feel (and perhaps are) more vulnerable on a boat. One reason I got a coastal cruiser was that I could not see me traveling to another country by myself and feeling safe. I"m older and I have other limitations and if someone were looking for an easy target I might fit their description.

[rognvald]

Thanks to SteveW for the link to the aftermath and the tragic photo and once again, my sincerest wishes for this couples physical and emotional recovery. Unfortunately, many in our cruising community have lived very protected lives prior to their adventures, are well educated, largely liberal minded, trusting in nature and unprepared for the potential for violence outside the civilized world. Many cannot conceive that they would be involved in such a horrific act as these two unfortunate people have experienced and many would not have been as brave and resolute as the husband who not only repelled the attacker but probably saved both their lives. The complacency of sun, sea, palm trees and your boat pulling on its hook is long mental leap to a savage and brutal attack by a sick, desperate criminal. I agree with S/V Jedi in his assessment of this mentality among many of us and we need to remember that although we may be peaceful and civilized, much of the world is not. I have advocated for years that the cruising lifestyle need not be an exercise in survival training or an Outward Bound experience. We do not need to have visited every nation on the "cruisers checklist" to have fulfilled our dream. And, we need to send a strong message to those nations that do not provide security and a safe environment for its tourists that we will not be spending our dollars with them but rather with those countries who appreciate our visits. Once again, my deepest sympathies and respect for this brave and resourceful couple.

[hartcjhart]

Guns,blah blah,pepper/mace spray,blah blah,
none of these are of much use when the crim has got on board unless you carry them at all times,
the dog,yep very good but not all peeps want poops on their boat,

the best way to stop/eliminate the risk is to make it as hard as poss for them to get on board
so auto lights/alarms
and cat strips along the deck sides like these
http://cactus-products.com/images/
then self defence which also means capitulating and letting them take what they want(apart from SWMBO)

[Dulcesuenos]

Those cat strips look interesting.
I wonder what has happened to the 15 year old attacker.

[SaltyTanned]

Dont sail to areas of high crime, high homicide rates.

If I followed this advice I would have to stay away from all other american countries as they all have crime and homicide rates that double ours at least. DC has 25 times my province's homicide rate! Canadians would be limited to sailing to Europe and Australia or New Zealand. Those are fairly long steps.

And what would this change? SVG does not live from tourism they make money with (special) agriculture and transport...

One night four boats were attacked at gun point in the vicinity of Union by three criminals from Union. No one was harmed. One of these boats was a charter cat operated by Switch, a then very important for tourism outfit. A V-P from Switch called the minister of tourism of SVG and complained. He was told "we cannot watch every anchorage every night". His answer "Then we will move operations to another area". Within two days the criminals had been arrested. The moral of this: we cruisers need more punch.

We need an association that can speak for us. We bring more business to these islands than cruise ships. Yet every year we have to pay more to sail the waters, anchor, visit etc. and every year crime rates climb. Those countries do not even supply a dinghy dock for us.

Central America and Venezuela meanwhile have become terribly dangerous so yachties abound to Grenada and SVG and St Lucia. The latter has improved safety during recent years and has seen an increase in yachting revenues.

Could we have an international yachtspeople's association that would have clout?

[jared1048]

And I'm going with 8 other friends and family on a 10 day charter at the end of the month to Grenada! Hopefully our greater numbers will keep us safer...