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22 August - Chateaubelair, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Still another report received from a yacht boarded on 21 July in this dangerous anchorage. This brings to seven confirmed reports during the past year, with three more unconfirmed. All reports are similar: three or four men armed with machetes and guns, robbing the crew and guests of cash and personal electronics. Yachtsmen are warned to avoid this anchorage at all costs and to alert their friends if the dangers here.
19 August - Pampatar, Margarita
The Security Net has received the second report in six weeks of an assault and robbery of a single-handed yachtsman in Pampatar. The details of these reports are quite similar, so it seems that the same gang is responsible. The Port Captain in Pampatar closed the port to anchored yachts several years ago, to allow space for the local fishing fleet. That closing, plus these two incidents, put the Pampatar anchorage outside the legal and safe anchorages in Venezuela. Yachtsmen are encouraged to avoid that anchorage.
16 August - Chichirivichi and Morrocoy National Park, Venezuela
Nearly all the navigational aids, marks and lights are missing from this area and there appear to be no plans at present to replace these aids. Yachtsmen are cautioned that the entrances to these areas are extremely tricky in reef navigation and are advised either to hire a local guide to lead the way or to investigate in the dinghy with a lead line prior to entering.
15 August - Rio Dulce, Guatemala
While outside the normal reporting areas of the Security Net, yachtsmen planning to head to the Rio should know that a number of armed boardings took place early in August. In one case, the captain was injured so severely that he died and his wife was hospitalized with her injuries. Two days later, two different yachts were boarded: one was ransacked while the crew was held at gunpoint and the second lost a portable generator locked topside after a lengthy attempt to break in through the companionway. Police have arrested several men, linked closely to these incidents, and there have been two causalities in their attempts to evade capture. Yachts heading to the Rio Dulce should stay abreast of current events from reliable sources, not rumors and gossip and blogs.
1 August - Tobago Cays, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Some 30 moorings have been installed “strategically placed to deter yachts from dropping their anchors too close to the turtle nesting area and the coral reefs, which are two of the many attractions in the Cays.” Use of these moorings is optional and the moorings are managed by the TCMP park rangers, who collect the fees at a rate of $45EC per night.
15 July: BVI Fees Update
In a statement made on July 15th, Premier Honorable Ralph T. O’Neal, OBE, revealed that Cabinet has decided to indefinitely defer the implementation of harbor fees for vessels entering or remaining in Territorial waters or those using a BVI Ports Authority facility. The Premier explained that based on representations made to Government by local associations, maritime agents and others involved in the yachting industry both locally and abroad, the decision was taken to defer the introduction of fees in an attempt to protect the Territory’s competitive edge as a yachting destination.
“Cabinet reviewed the new fee structure and also we considered the cost implications of the charges when compared to the rising cost of fuel,” the Premier said. He added, “In addition, Cabinet determined that if the BVI were to implement this new fee structure, the Territory may have become the most expensive destination in the world for mariners and yachts.” In addition to indefinitely deferring the introduction of harbor fees, the BVI Cabinet has agreed to establish a seven-member focus group to review the said fees, the group composed of representatives from the various stake-holders in the BVI yachting industry. The group is expected to submit its report to Cabinet by September.
W A R N I N G 5 JANUARY 2008: PROBLEMS IN CHATEAUBELAIR, ST. VINCENT
Over the past six weeks or so, the Security Net has received reports of possibly as many as seven different incidents of crime against yachts at anchor in Chateaubelair. Two of the reports have full details and are listed In the MOST RECENT and SOWINDWARDS reports on the ISLAND REPORTS page of this website. The remaining reports are fragments and may represent several versions of the same one or two reports. There are, however, sufficiently differing details that I think the potential is there for them to be distinctly separate incidents.
One report indicated that the victims had spent many hours with the police and the coast guard, reviewing the details of their incident. They commented that the officials “were all very concerned, and were extremely kind, polite and helpful. They took the attack very seriously and guaranteed…to do all they could to bring the attackers to justice and to stamp this out immediately…”
Chateaubelair has been a trouble spot in the past for visiting yachts and it appears that this is again the situation. Until the St. Vincent authorities can assure the yachting community that the problem is properly being addressed and and are working towards a final resolution, the Security Net advises all yachts to give serious consideration to the recent events before making a decision to stop. If a yacht wishes to stop in Chateaubelair, I would suggest that the utmost in precautions be implemented - see Precautions on the History page of this website for suggestions.
Update 23 January: There are now four confirmed reports and three additional very possible. All involved armed robberies, and several included injuries. Please exercise all appropriate precautions if you must anchor at Chateaubelair.
Still another report received from a yacht boarded on 21 July in this dangerous anchorage. This brings to seven confirmed reports during the past year, with three more unconfirmed. All reports are similar: three or four men armed with machetes and guns, robbing the crew and guests of cash and personal electronics. Yachtsmen are warned to avoid this anchorage at all costs and to alert their friends if the dangers here.
19 August - Pampatar, Margarita
The Security Net has received the second report in six weeks of an assault and robbery of a single-handed yachtsman in Pampatar. The details of these reports are quite similar, so it seems that the same gang is responsible. The Port Captain in Pampatar closed the port to anchored yachts several years ago, to allow space for the local fishing fleet. That closing, plus these two incidents, put the Pampatar anchorage outside the legal and safe anchorages in Venezuela. Yachtsmen are encouraged to avoid that anchorage.
16 August - Chichirivichi and Morrocoy National Park, Venezuela
Nearly all the navigational aids, marks and lights are missing from this area and there appear to be no plans at present to replace these aids. Yachtsmen are cautioned that the entrances to these areas are extremely tricky in reef navigation and are advised either to hire a local guide to lead the way or to investigate in the dinghy with a lead line prior to entering.
15 August - Rio Dulce, Guatemala
While outside the normal reporting areas of the Security Net, yachtsmen planning to head to the Rio should know that a number of armed boardings took place early in August. In one case, the captain was injured so severely that he died and his wife was hospitalized with her injuries. Two days later, two different yachts were boarded: one was ransacked while the crew was held at gunpoint and the second lost a portable generator locked topside after a lengthy attempt to break in through the companionway. Police have arrested several men, linked closely to these incidents, and there have been two causalities in their attempts to evade capture. Yachts heading to the Rio Dulce should stay abreast of current events from reliable sources, not rumors and gossip and blogs.
1 August - Tobago Cays, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Some 30 moorings have been installed “strategically placed to deter yachts from dropping their anchors too close to the turtle nesting area and the coral reefs, which are two of the many attractions in the Cays.” Use of these moorings is optional and the moorings are managed by the TCMP park rangers, who collect the fees at a rate of $45EC per night.
15 July: BVI Fees Update
In a statement made on July 15th, Premier Honorable Ralph T. O’Neal, OBE, revealed that Cabinet has decided to indefinitely defer the implementation of harbor fees for vessels entering or remaining in Territorial waters or those using a BVI Ports Authority facility. The Premier explained that based on representations made to Government by local associations, maritime agents and others involved in the yachting industry both locally and abroad, the decision was taken to defer the introduction of fees in an attempt to protect the Territory’s competitive edge as a yachting destination.
“Cabinet reviewed the new fee structure and also we considered the cost implications of the charges when compared to the rising cost of fuel,” the Premier said. He added, “In addition, Cabinet determined that if the BVI were to implement this new fee structure, the Territory may have become the most expensive destination in the world for mariners and yachts.” In addition to indefinitely deferring the introduction of harbor fees, the BVI Cabinet has agreed to establish a seven-member focus group to review the said fees, the group composed of representatives from the various stake-holders in the BVI yachting industry. The group is expected to submit its report to Cabinet by September.
W A R N I N G 5 JANUARY 2008: PROBLEMS IN CHATEAUBELAIR, ST. VINCENT
Over the past six weeks or so, the Security Net has received reports of possibly as many as seven different incidents of crime against yachts at anchor in Chateaubelair. Two of the reports have full details and are listed In the MOST RECENT and SOWINDWARDS reports on the ISLAND REPORTS page of this website. The remaining reports are fragments and may represent several versions of the same one or two reports. There are, however, sufficiently differing details that I think the potential is there for them to be distinctly separate incidents.
One report indicated that the victims had spent many hours with the police and the coast guard, reviewing the details of their incident. They commented that the officials “were all very concerned, and were extremely kind, polite and helpful. They took the attack very seriously and guaranteed…to do all they could to bring the attackers to justice and to stamp this out immediately…”
Chateaubelair has been a trouble spot in the past for visiting yachts and it appears that this is again the situation. Until the St. Vincent authorities can assure the yachting community that the problem is properly being addressed and and are working towards a final resolution, the Security Net advises all yachts to give serious consideration to the recent events before making a decision to stop. If a yacht wishes to stop in Chateaubelair, I would suggest that the utmost in precautions be implemented - see Precautions on the History page of this website for suggestions.
Update 23 January: There are now four confirmed reports and three additional very possible. All involved armed robberies, and several included injuries. Please exercise all appropriate precautions if you must anchor at Chateaubelair.