Following an increase in attacks on boats in recent months, particularly around St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines, the authorities are now responding. The Prime Minister of St Vincent, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, announced at the end of December that patrols had been stepped up on land in the marina area and also at sea at buoy and anchorage points. In Bequia, where, according to the Caribbean Safety and Security Net (CSSN), the boats of four crews were broken into and stolen in November alone, a permanent Coastguard presence has even been temporarily established on the shore.
According to Gonsalves, further steps are also being taken to curb crime against visitors on yachts. However, in order not to jeopardise the success of the investigation, these were not specified. The move comes at the right time, as the reports of the Caribbean Safety and Security Net, which collects and publishes reports of assaults on a voluntary basis, had shown that crime had risen sharply following the restart of tourism. This is probably ultimately due to the fact that the inhabitants of the two very poor states of St Lucia and St Vincent, including Grenadines, had hardly any income during the Corona period. Even if that cannot be an excuse, of course. There is also a number of unreported cases, as not all offences are recorded by the CSSN, which relies on voluntary information from those affected.
Measures have been successful in the past
Ultimately, however, almost all Caribbean islands live from tourism, and sailors also bring money into the area, especially as mooring buoys are now available almost everywhere for a fee and national park fees are also charged. Restaurants and bars also benefit, as there are hardly any crews cooking on board in the Caribbean, while hawkers also sell T-shirts, fruit, vegetables and services to pleasure boaters.
The announcement is certainly good news for charter crews and blue water boaters, because when there was a comparable increase in attacks about six years ago, the authorities - for example on St Lucia - reacted in a similar way and were successful; shortly before Corona, the number of cases had fallen drastically.
It is important for crews to know that the attacks are often concentrated in certain bays or spots, as it is often just a few locals who cause problems. If the police are able to arrest them, the assaults can sometimes decrease abruptly. It is therefore very important for crews to discuss with the local staff on arrival at the charter base which bays or jetties should be avoided. And, of course, the boat should be well locked when leaving and valuables should not be left lying around. When ashore, the dinghy should always be connected by wire and picked up at night and secured on board with a lock. These are provided by every charter base on the trip. If you take these two pieces of advice to heart, you will hardly have any problems. You can do this very well on the Website of the CSSN see the latest news.
