Thugs of the Caribbean Make 'Ghost Anchorages'

by Nancy Knudsen on 2 Jun 2008 'Give us your money or we will kill you,' is what the armed thugs said, boarding a yacht in Chateaubelair on the gorgeous island of St Vincent in the Caribbean.

When you combine 'rich' sailors with 'poor' locals, add access to television programmes showing the 'good life' and then place you on the direct 'road' between the world's biggest drug producing countries and the world's biggest market of users, it's a cocktail mix that produces dangerous waters. They are not Pirates - they only occur in International waters - they are Thugs of the Caribbean, and you don't want to be there.

Security has always been a problem in Caribbean waters, resulting in the creation of popular website Caribbean Safety and Security Net , which gives timely advice for cruisers visiting the vast and idyllic cruising waters. Sail-World Cruising strongly advises any sailors planning a cruise through the area to consult this excellent website; but just reading the website is not insurance against a real attack.

LA Times Journalist Carol Williams tells of the experiences of the Allison Botros and seven others when two men wielding curlasses and a third brandishing a gun burst onto their yacht at 1.30am in Chateaubelair:

'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.

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.'

Pirates who attacked a yacht in Rodney Bay in St. Lucia, about 60 miles north of Chateaubelair, two years ago severely beat the captain and raped his wife, causing the number of visits to drop by half.

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.

However, while no arrests have been made in Chateaubelair, the Caribbean Security and Safety Net reports that they have stationed a three-man CID team there and have plans to install a VHF radio at the police station. In addition, the St. Vincent Coast Guard has increased their patrols in the area.

Yachts visiting Chateaubelair are advised to call the police and the Coast Guard on VHF 16 to advise them of the yacht's intention to anchor there.

To read the detailed account of the Chateaubelair attack and aftermath by Carol Williams, click here