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Real Pirates of the Caribbean

I'd be very curious to hear the POV of Robi and other sailors about this article. I've heard about a lot of this kind of stuff happening to people in Colombia but this is the first article I've ever seen about it being so widespread.

Article to follow in next post.

By Mr. Hollywood on Jun 1, 2008, 09:45 in Friendly Talkzone.

Mr. Hollywood says on Jun 1, 2008, 09:45:

Yachts encountering real pirates of the Caribbean
Robberies have increased as the number of boats sailing the lush islands grows, and with it the lure of the sailors' valuables.
By Carol J. Williams
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

June 1, 2008

CHATEAUBELAIR, ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES — When two men wielding cutlasses and a third brandishing a gun burst onto their yacht at 1:30 in the morning, Allison Botros and the seven others aboard suddenly realized that "Pirates of the Caribbean" is not just a movie.

"Give us your money or we will kill you," Botros recalled the robbers telling them during the 15-minute ordeal. The mother of three from Cleveland was cruising with Swedish and American friends aboard the 70-foot Sway, which was boarded as it was anchored in this pristine harbor that is shadowed by the La Soufriere volcano and rimmed by swaying palms.

After shaking down the passengers for thousands of dollars in cash, watches, cameras and cellphones, the robbers ordered skipper Harald Krecker to motor out to sea or be hit with rocket-propelled grenades.

More than five months after the Dec. 22 incident, the robbery victims have yet to receive a police report, the pirates remain at large, and the sleek yachts that ply the teal waters of the Windward Islands have gone elsewhere, making a ghost town of scenic Chateaubelair.

Attacks on yachters across the Caribbean have marred the luxurious cruising life with increasing frequency as the number of vessels sailing the lush islands grows year to year, and with it the lure of valuables for thieves and drug traffickers in the region.

At least three other attacks were reported in Chateaubelair in a two-week period in December, all involving three men, two long knives and a handgun.

"What is new in the last two to three years is an increase in the use of weapons," said Melodye Pompa, administrator of the Caribbean Safety and Security Net website, a sailing community endeavor that logs thefts, robberies and assaults committed against boaters. "It's becoming more violent. I've tracked that across the region we cover."

Most of the hundreds of incidents collected from 30 countries and territories over the last four years involve dinghy and outboard motor thefts or burglaries of boats while passengers were ashore. But guns and knives are being used more frequently, and dozens of incidents involving beatings and stabbings are among the crimes reported to the website, which compiles its statistics from charter operators, marinas, harbor masters and the victims.

No one on board the Sway was hurt, but the captain of another yacht, the Chiquita, which was attacked here the next night, suffered multiple cuts, including two head wounds that required stitches at a hospital in Kingstown, the island nation's capital.

"There are times when it's happening and you think it's not real," Botros said. "At one point one of them said, 'If you don't find your wallet, I'll kill you,' and I was so traumatized I forgot that I hadn't brought my wallet on the trip. I was saying, 'Oh my God, I can't find it! I've got to find it!' thinking about our kids at home."

Yachting visitors and the local suppliers who cater to them are the mainstays of many Caribbean island economies, including St. Vincent's. A week's charter of a luxury sailing vessel such as the Sway costs more than $13,000 plus expenses, and mega-yachts, with their onboard swimming pools and helicopters, are increasingly dropping anchor and treasure at the beautiful harbors of the region.

The December crime wave prompted some added vigilance by the coast guard and police, but specifics of the response were unclear. Representatives of the St. Vincent police did not return calls or answer e-mails after receiving a request for an interview on what they were doing to combat crime against yachters.

The attacks also galvanized the island's sailing businesses. Fearing for their livelihoods, yacht charterers and provisioners anted up funds for a patrol boat and published a list of do's and don'ts for prospective cruisers. Some said that only put the dangers in black and white.

"If I got this, I would get on the next plane out of here and go home," Mary Barnard, managing director of Barefoot Yacht Charters, said of the brochure, which essentially advises sailors to stay locked up, on board and under guard at all times.

She produced a letter from a Canadian couple who had been customers for years, in which they said that their June 2006 assault and robbery by men armed with machetes had compelled them "to stop all cruising in your area."

At the Beach Front Restaurant & Bar on Chateaubelair harbor, waiter Felix Granderson said he thought it might be safer these days because of stepped-up security but that it was difficult to tell because sailors no longer anchored here. He said the pirates were holed up in the towering mountains above the harbor.

"Everybody knows who's doing it. It's guys who don't want to work, from Fitz-Hughes," he said, referring to a remote village on the flanks of La Soufriere.

Even if arrests are made in such crimes, the victims are seldom able to return to identify or testify against their attackers, said Chris Doyle, author of popular cruising guides for the Caribbean.

"The islands have a judicial system that dates back a bit and is very much in favor of the criminal when the victim does not stay around," he said, explaining why the yacht pillagers are seldom prosecuted.

Police in the islands tend to be in "react mode," Pompa said of the short-lived flurries of concern and investigation that follow incidents. But some islands have taken lessons from the bad publicity that cuts into the tourism industry, on which most of them are dependent.

"Dominica, up until about eight years ago, had a terrible reputation, and it was deserved," she said of the island about 135 miles north of here where pirates preyed on visiting vessels. When sailors stopped anchoring there, the prime minister got the business community together to bankroll a patrol boat that has drastically reduced onboard crimes, she said.

Pirates who attacked a yacht in Rodney Bay in St. Lucia -- about 60 miles north of here -- two years ago severely beat the captain and raped his wife, causing the number of visits to drop by half, Pompa said she was told by local officials. The government deployed a port patrol boat, which "seems to be somewhat of a deterrent," Pompa said.

Crimes against boaters are down throughout St. Lucia this year, she said, and no recent incident has involved violence, according to web logs at safetyandsecuritynet.com.

Others with long experience sailing the Caribbean contend that it isn't so much that crime has increased, but rather the volume of cruising traffic and the means of communicating the incidents.

"There's definitely a concern, but it's really hard to say if there is more crime against yachts than there ever was or if dissemination of the information is just better now," said Sally Erdle, editor of the Caribbean Compass, a monthly newspaper published in Bequia, another island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines that is popular with the sailing crowd. "With the Internet, the yachts all e-mail reports of these incidents far and wide immediately, and also discuss them on yacht and ham radio nets."

The seaboard jungle drums can also generate multiple reports of a single incident, she noted, "turning it into a dozen in the minds of the public."

"Bad things come in waves," said author Doyle, whose cruisingguides.com includes advisories about crime waves in places of real concern such as Venezuelan islands and Chateaubelair.

"If we have a trouble spot with those responsible still loose, we need to try to warn people," he said. "The problem then becomes, how much does the warning generalize? For example, we have had a problem in Chateaubelair, but not Cumberland or Wallilabou, a few miles to the south. How do we stop people becoming so paranoid they avoid the whole west coast?"

Disturbing as the robberies and other occasional violent incidents are, they remain exceptions, he said, recalling six incidents during the last season out of 1,000 moorings by charters in St. Lucia's Soufriere Marine Management Area.

"The police in the islands do make an effort, especially in response to really bad and well-publicized events, such as rape," he said. But most of the crimes cast as piracy against yachters "are no more than the occasional stolen dinghy and break-in."

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slguy says on Jun 1, 2008, 12:57:

First, the really good news - I have a close friend who this year cruised from the ABC's over to Cartagena, where he spent several very enjoyable months, then off to the Rio Dulce. He reports that the coastal waters of the Colombian Caribbean are very well patrolled by polite and very professional Colombian military types. Having had terrible experiences in Venezuela last year, he couldn't say enough good stuff about Colombian patrols.

As to the article, all of my feedback from pals and other cruisers is that yea- reporting is better now, given communication advances on the typical cruising boat BUT that there are pockets of really dangerous areas. Trinidad, for example used to be a sailor's haven during hurricane season. Now, not so much. The governments of these places somehow don't equate cruisers with more typical tourists, so they are unwilling to devote much energy seeing to the security of cruising sailors. Some even grumble about the rich sailors being unreasonable in their expectation of police help when robberies and the like occur. One would have thought some of these guys would learn from the tourism hit Aruba took - but they don't.

The sad fact is that many island governments fail to realize how lucrative it can be to be a cruiser's haven. Cruisers come from many economic classes, but one constant is that boats need constant care and feeding. Importers as well as service people (mechanics, woodworkers, electrically adept folks) ALL benefit economically from having cruisers in their midst.

Even when cruisers don't use marinas, and instead anchor out- it's not like they never go ashore. So their contributions to local economies almost never require costly infrastructure, like hotels, etc. They come, they stay awhile, they spend money, and they leave. No real investment required from the locals, except security and the ability to make folks feel welcome. A true win-win, for those awake enough to recognize it.

The consensus I seem to get is that things have become a little less secure in the islands, generally speaking, with pockets of real problem areas. But those pocket areas are almost immediately recognized among the cruising community, and avoided like the plague. Who wants to go to a place where your wife can get raped on board your vessel, and the locals do nada about it?

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

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Wastelandlive says on Jun 1, 2008, 14:55:

Yup.

It's difficult or somebody who's never been a sailor to understand the threat of piracy. Out on a boat, there's no calling the police. There's nobody passing by to raise a voice or help out... you're on your own there.

I always cruised with firearms: all three, rifle, shotgun, and pistol. I used the shotgun once to deter an approaching launch with about five men onboard that I encounterd off the coast of Panama... whatever their intentions were, they understood that I didn't want any, and went elsewhere.

Frankly, the British understood the threat best: summary trial and hanging. These shit islands that do fuck all about crimes against cruisers, cultivating thier resentful attitudes that "Your rich, you have a boat, you can afford it... we're poor, so don't complain..."

Well... they deserve no boats.

Colombians get it. I'm thinking back to sometime in the nineties - when GAULA rounded up a couple of pirates in the outskirts of Cartagena and laid out their bodies (I think they must have died while resisting arrest) for the victims to see in Club Nautico.

That's the way to do it.

Wasteland

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Sam Salmon says on Jun 1, 2008, 16:26:

"....the British understood the threat best: summary trial and hanging"

Couldn't agree more and having spent time on small Caribbean islands both English and Spanish speaking I've seen first hand the useless excuses they have for Police.

I still wouldn't cruise the Pacific coast of Colombia but that has as much to do with lack of anything approaching decent anchorage than perceived threats to personal security.

' a la orden!'

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deathnova says on Jun 1, 2008, 16:44:

I would not go into international waters without some heavy arms, it's common sense.

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bufalo says on Jun 1, 2008, 18:16:

Colombia was waaaay different in the 90's Santa Marta is not what it was back then. Similar stuff there as well, right in front of everyone.

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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slguy says on Jun 2, 2008, 13:20:

doc - despite all the macho bluster - most of avoiding problems with bad guys is avoiding putting yourself in a vulnerable position.

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

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Wastelandlive says on Jun 2, 2008, 16:38:

Clever.

Being at sea - alone - is a vulnerable position.

Doc... what region are you in? What nationality are you?

Wasteland

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robi666 says on Jun 2, 2008, 16:51:

If I remember well, last attack reported in Colombia it was something like five years ago. A French boat, but the guys were inside Magdalena river in Barranquilla! Do not ask him why would someone want to be there.
I remember that three years ago Cabo Velero, between Baranquilla and Cartagena, was considered not safe.
Cartagena area is considered safe and so Parque Tayrona and Santa Marta.

If you are living on board, what you do is to hear other sailors talking and consult Internet sites. Probably, weapons won't help much in case of a serious attack, if not getting you killed.

"I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present."

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robi666 says on Jun 2, 2008, 16:55:

Jimmy Cornell World cruising handbook is nice to have.
http://www.noonsite.com/, his website, contains update info about piracy.
The most dangerous area of the world is for sure Red Sea.
Some part of Venezuela and Trinidad are dangerous too.

It was a long time since I opened that page. I see that an attack was reported in January in Isla Marguerita. The island is a DUMP and I don't see why sailing there if not to escape an hurricane, like I did with big Ivan some years ago.

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robi666 says on Jun 2, 2008, 17:04:

Well, Cartagena bay is a dump, too.

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robi666 says on Jun 2, 2008, 17:13:

This is the story of the attack in Puerto Velero.
http://www.noonsite.com/Members/doina/R2003-05-01-3

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slguy says on Jun 2, 2008, 17:23:

"Clever.

Being at sea - alone - is a vulnerable position."

You a sailor? Have any knowledge whatsoever of what you're talking about? Or just making cracks from the cheap seats?

Never mind - your attempt at humor gives you away....

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

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Wastelandlive says on Jun 2, 2008, 17:33:

"Cartagena area is considered safe."

Sure... I lived there for years without problems.

Of course while I was there, a catamaran was boarded, the captain held at gunpoint, and the vessel stripped... in the bay. I believe that gentleman was in transit from Vikingos to Club Nautico.

Oh - and another boat was boarded, the owners held at gunpoint and robbed outside of Santa Marta. They eventually limped into Cartagena for lots of moral support.

Venezuela? A couple in Puerto la Cruz was boarded, robbed, the wife (elderly) raped, bouth bound to the boat, and the vessel scuttled with the expectation that they would drown. They survived, fortunately.

This all happened during the two to three years that I lived in the region.

Here's the thing... nobody is claiming that it's a daily occurance. But when it happens to you... ya, it sucks. And you might die.

For those who counsel that guns on board are dangerous... well, that's a personal decision. They have a point. For example, there was a story about a guy who resisted in Brazil. He was shot and killed. They might have simply robbed him, had he not resisted.

Do you trust your own judgement, skill, and discipline? If not, maybe guns aren't for you.

But the pirates will have them. Yes indeed.

Wasteland

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Wastelandlive says on Jun 2, 2008, 19:10:

Oh -

And Slguy?

Ya. I'm a sailor. If you're really curious... dig deep and read some of the comments I've posted here over the years. Yes, as a matter of fact, I do know exactly what I'm talking about.

You?

My answer wasn't meant to be half as flippant and condescending as your post... but it appears that you took offense at it anyways.

That's really too bad.

Wasteland

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Wastelandlive says on Jun 2, 2008, 20:59:

:) What, you think I'm a chick?

No worries Doc... it takes a little bit more than that to rattle my cage. The debate over sailing with or without arms is an old one, and experienced cruisers fall on both sides of the argument; I understand this well.

I simply wanted to answer your question.

Guns were never an issue for me in Colombia. Like many cruisers I knew in Cartagena, I had them. I never declared them. Nobody asked.

I declared them in Panama, and a few other countries. A couple islands took them from me and returned them upon my departure. But Colombia - at least then - didn't seem to care. Perhaps they feel it just as well that cruisers go armed...

But _acquiring_ arms in Colombia is another story... Colombians can legally acquire them, but it is difficult, and very expensive. I have my doubt that a foreigner would be granted the license. And I think you'll have a hard time finding the appropriate weapons.

I have no doubt you could buy them illegally, but that's a transaction I'd be reluctant to get involved with. You certainly won't be able to fly back with them from a quick round trip home... clearing customs would be something else altogether.

I suppose if you want to go down that route, a quick sail to Panama might be your best bet... but I never tried it myself. I just don't know.

Best of luck.

Wasteland

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Robert Jorge says on Jun 3, 2008, 00:44:

I know a couple of guys who cruised the Caribe for a few years. I don't know one who wasn't armed. I would say the "average" armament would be an AR15 or Mini14, a 12 gauge shotgun (nickel and stainless), and a good handgun like a Beretta 92fs, Colt 45, etc.

BEWARE of gold diggers.

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lpdiver says on Jun 3, 2008, 05:01:

doc...I doubt the pirate are going to be attacking 25 foot sailboats in great quanities. Especially if you don't display and goodies.

t

"cook some rice!"

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tomtom33 says on Jun 3, 2008, 05:37:

I'll bet you could get a decent price for a used 25-foot sailboat.

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jonas says on Jun 3, 2008, 15:42:

Very few international cruisers carry fire arms on their boats.
The number may be different for US coastal cruisers that never leave US waters.

Simon Presidente!

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robi666 says on Jun 3, 2008, 18:20:

"Very few international cruisers carry fire arms on their boats."
Having known a lot of cruisers, I agree.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Jun 4, 2008, 15:25:

Docwilliam, the marinas of Central America are filled with boats for sale by American cruisers whose dreams fell apart mid-voyage. I'm guessing you could easily pick up a sound vessel at a good price in Panama and bring it to Colombia.

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robi666 says on Jun 4, 2008, 15:47:

Cartagena is the dump of sailboats.
Not enough money to pass the canal, not enough money to put the boat in shape to sail upwind to the Caribbean.

Plus, the occurring sailman that passes away for high usage of cocaine, viagra and acohol, living the boat behind for the Colombiana that does not know what to do of a sailboat or of the real value of it. She'd grab any money offered.

Just take a walk to Club Nautico and Club de Pesca and look for the real deal. I've seen those deals.

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Wastelandlive says on Jun 4, 2008, 18:20:

Well, there's something we can agree on.

There are all kinds of fixer-upper good deals in that area... amazingly, people leave them at Isla Grande in Panama - AT ANCHOR - indefinitely. There, at Club Nautico, in the boatyards, the Yachtclub in Panama... there is many a sad tale. And they're not bad deals... the seller will have to take a HUGE discount, unless he wants to pay somebody to move it or move it himself. Owners can be incredibly stubborn, and sit on their hands while their boats wither away in the tropical sun, completely unrealistic about the true value of their boats... then after a few years, the pendulum swings and they just want to unload them.

Find a few that you could see yourself owning, and completely low-ball the owners. (Who you may have to work just to find.) Repairs will be cheap, because local labor is dirt cheap... but you MUST be able to work on your boat and manage such projects yourself. You should enjoy such work, because it won't be easy putting such boats right again. Don't expect to find much expertise and quality work in the area. And much specialized gear will have to be imported. But in the end, you could have a nice live aboard at a fraction of what you'd pay in Miami, or Los Angeles.

Now... so far as your thought that as Captain of the vessel you have the right to secure your passenger's safety by any means necessary...

Don't get carried away. Maritime law is indeed unique, and interesting, and there are vestiges of other centuries there... but no, being "Captain" doesn't automatically grant you the right to carry arms on-board, anyplace you wish.

Generally, the rule is that you may possess them. Certainly in international waters there is no authority to tell you otherwise.

But you must clear a nation's customs as soon as you arrive, and when you do, their laws will kick into effect... and those laws vary. In some nations - you keep them. Others want to examine them, and count your ammunition. Other nations will take them away, and give you a receipt so that you can reclaim them when you leave.

There are exceptions even to that.

If you sail into a port in Mexico, the Mexicans might well put you in jail just for having them, even if you declare them upon entry to the customs officer in a completely honest fashion. This isn't really in keeping with tradition, but the Mexicans are completely serious about gun running... after all, how do THEY know where you were before, or where you were planning on going? They'll point out that it was YOUR responsibility to know Mexican law before you sailed into Mexican waters.

That could get complicated. For example, there is also a body of law about your right to run to any port for shelter in a storm or some other emergency. What if you do so in Mexico, and you have guns on board?

I honestly don't know how that would work out, but I wouldn't want to fight that battle.

It's a responsibility.

And again, acquiring them is something else. I've never heard of a scenario where you have special rights in purchasing weapons because you are Captain of a vessel. I think you'll have to go somewhere where your right to purchase is obvious regardless... like the US. I don't know what countries - if any - in your area have liberal laws regarding the purchase of firearms.

Wasteland

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Wastelandlive says on Jun 5, 2008, 18:58:

You don't feel the need?

You have been toying with me Sirrah... prepare to be boarded.

Wasteland

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