Since being in Granada we have had a fairly
major change to our plans. When returning there from Tobago Cays with Hattie and
Peter for their flight home we went again to True Blue Marina which is so
pleasant and so convenient for the airport. When we arrived, pleased that we
were almost on the same mooring as previously, we were next to the 56 foot steel
yacht 'Triton'. Registered in Panama but German owned and flying German colours
this looked like a small ship rather than a sailing yacht.
The
skipper's going ashore coincided with Chris and Hattie's and so we heard their
very sorry tale. The day before they were en route from Trinidad to Grenada, a
journey of some 100 miles, when at 40 miles out and just 50 – 60 miles off the
Grenadian coast they spied a fast pirogue (Caribbean open fishing boat) speeding
toward them. At first they thought the pirogue crew needed help but quickly
realised that the boat was in pursuit and started weaving to throw them off.
Then a shot slugged into their hull and they saw that the seven men had rifles
and were going to use them. The engines were slowed and they were boarded by 5
Spanish speaking men believed to be Venezuelan.
Triton's skipper was tied up, a towel thrown over his head and a gun held
to it. The crew, a friend, was pushed under the table and also threatened with a
gun to his head. The skipper's wife was in another cabin and when the boarders
saw her they called out 'señorita, señorita', which caused the couple great
fear. All movable electronics and electrical equipment was stripped out and then
the thieves took anything else they could carry including money, clothes,
cutlery, jewellery, cosmetics, toiletries. The invaders destroyed the boat's
fitted VHF radio so that the owners couldn't radio for help. However, they did
not attack the skipper's wife as had been very much feared would happen.
Triton and her 3 crew came into the marina the night before our arrival
and were given support from the marina management and staff, this is not just
their boat but their home as they are live aboards. Everything was reported and
the movers and shakers of the Grenadian boat world whose livelihoods depend on a
thriving yachting base have jointly put pressure on politicians to take action
with governments in Venezuela and in Trinidad where Trition's owners feel they
were first targeted. Over here in the Caribbean, Venezuela is getting an
increasingly bad reputation for violent piracy but it seems its politicians
show no real interest; this feels sad for the people who rely on visiting
yachts and tourism which creates hundreds of jobs and supports numerous large
and small businesses in this part of the world. Trinidad, which also has a bad
reputation, seems unable to do very much about the increasing crime rates
either. The Grenadian government is unhappy and is raising the issues with these
close neighbours as they are worried that it reflects badly on Grenada and will
affect its own tourist and yachting economy. No one has been caught for the
crimes against Triton, the boat was taken out of the water in Prickly Bay,
Grenada perhaps for a refit but that is the last we saw of them.
For
us this incident has come on top of several news articles and radio reports
about the dangers of violent robbery for up to 300 miles off the Venezuelan
coast. Reluctantly we have decided to cut out this leg of our journey. We should
be in Venezuelan waters and harbours now but we have re-organised and continued
north into the further windward islands of St Lucia and Martinique. This has
given us the opportunity to meet up with our
Swedish friends Ann and Pér
who will be on board for a week before we leave for the ABC islands (Aruba,
Bonaire and Curacao) and Colombia which our insurance company tells us is a lot
safer than Venezuela these days. We are extremely disappointed to miss out on
Venezuela as it is purported to be full of spectacular scenery and generally
wonderful people. No matter we will get to Panama Canal by a different
route.
