English storys, crime reports and complaining:

On July 5th "Ravens eye" a British cruiser was chased and boarded by pirogue with 5 armed men off Puerto Santos. The yacht left PS just before sunset and was attacked 40 minutes out. The Captain was held at gunpoint in the cockpit and likewise his wife down below. Ships dog was shot and stabbed and survived the wounds later. Money, jewlery, ships spares and electonics was dismanteled and stolen. The yacht made it to Trinidad and filed report.

An american cruiser was stopped when he was walking on Avenida Bolivar on Saturday October 25th 2008 by three policemen riding light motorcycles. The police asked the cruiser to show them id-papers. He showed them the photocopied relevant page of his passport. Then they asked if they could look in his bag. One policeman sniffed inside the bag when he opened it, and claimed it smelled cannabis inside it. He passed the bag to the other policemen, who agreed. The cruiser strongly denied the accusation. The police asked to see some proper id, like his passport. He replied that the passport was stored on his boat. They kept telling how suspicious this was, and said they have to search the bag. And so they did and no cannabis was found. The Captain was given back his bag and the police drove away after telling him how serious the situation was. He quickly checked the content of his bag and found his wallet missing.

It was a lot more, but I must research correctly before I bring it on the page. The three was all people we know and some are friends of us.

Letter to Caribbean Compass in May 2007:

I read so many stories and letters in "Compass", so now I must give also my opinion about they so-called "cruisers" in the Caribbean. First, sorry for my terrible English, but I am an independent journalist and writer from Austria and sailing around 30 years with more then 60.000 nautical miles only in the Mediterranean sea. First on stinky power boats and on charter boats all types and sizes, than I lived seven years on my sailing vessel Key of life, a S&S 38 mahogany sloop and then seven years on a Cascaruda 45 ketch steel motorsailer and now we live more then seven years on our second "Key of life" a 40 ferro cement sloop, Collin Archer (Ingrid design) in the Caribbean between Florida, Bahamas, Cuba, West Indies to Venezuela. Many years ago, I always blamed the chartercrews for their way of acting their boats, even they must have a license to charter a boat in Europe. Although they have not very much of experience, because they are only once a year on holiday on the boat. Now I must apologize to all the chartercrews, because what I have seen in the Caribbean is indescribable. Those so-called "cruisers" are mostly the owner from their boats, and most of them have no idea what they do and I am wondering how they come so fare anyway without hurting themselves? I am 57 years old and I have my "Sailing Club ANKH" since 1984 and I taught a lot of people sailing and navigation, so I think, I can tell what the meaning is of seamanship. Five years ago in the Bahamas, from one of the few american skipper with a license, I learned a new word in english. He taught me a name for those people sailing around in the Caribbean, he called most of them "Sailing goons"! Now I found out, what is the difference between real cruisers and "sailing goons". And I am sure nobody will like to read the truth about it, but I like to write it, even you will maybe not print it in Compass.

One of the reasons to write this story is the "cruisers" net on the VHF Radio all morning from George Town in the Bahamas as well as in Porlamar in Venezuela, or in Chaguaramas in Trinidad. Maybe not everybody is a "sailing goon" but sure most of them ARE NOT cruisers. I only listened to the net a few times, then I stopped listening to it, because it is really painful if the so-called "cruisers" talk more about "Mexican train domino" and "bridge lesson" then from a boat gets hit by another one because his anchor was dragging or a dinghy gets stolen. Sometimes it is very helpful to get a weather report on the net, thanks for that, and the people what bring it on the radio. Normal I like to listen the weather myself on the SSB, but now it is very difficult on the most anchorages, because dozens "pactors" are running sending emails, or you are surrounded from running generators or motors from early in the morning to late night and you are not able to receive a clear signal. I think, people who need all this and like the useless talk about things what have nothing to do with cruising, they are better off staying in their condominiums, or like we say in Austria in the "Gemeindebau" or "Schrebergarten"!

This are the signs how you recognize a "SAILING GOON":

Sometimes you see yachts even with more then 20 meters and flying no flag at all, or some even fly a flag from a worldwide sailing association, but not a "courtesy ensign" or even a "national flag"! This is a disgrace for all cruisers and offend the country they sail in. Those people have no code of honor, those are 100% "Sailing goons" and have no idea what "seamanship" means! We have not much money and we are fare away from rich, and it costs a lot to buy everywhere the courtesy flags, but we do it, because we respect the country we visit, not only because it is a international law for yachts. And it should be also on the right place and I wondering where some goons flying the "Q" flag, if they have some?

Flags and the boats name and home harbor written on the boat are like a license plate on a car. And it should be flying and written properly to show their name and nationality. The size should be readable, also on distance and not in fancy letters, so nobody can read it! And also should the size from the flags fit to the size of the boat, if someone have on a 38 feet boat a national flag like a cruising ship with 4 to 2 feet and a courtesy flag with 4 to 2 inch it is also a disgrace for this country you sail in and he is not a patriot but more a idiot. In my more then 30 years sailing around in all areas, I see many times boats run into other boats by stormy weather, because their anchor is dragging and make some damage and run away! No wonder, if you see how they set their anchor sometimes. The anchoring manoeuvre I have seen so fare, can fill a book alone. I reported these situations not only in my logbook, but also to the Coast Guard. But if you don´t see a name, home harbor or not even a national flag, how you can report this SAILING GOON? (To be honest, normal I have another names for this people.) All this things are a disfigurement to "real" cruisers!

I read a lot in Compass, endless stories about anchor lights and I agree, you should have some, like a name and flags, but ... The real cruisers with a bit of experience know, it is not easy to see any anchor light against the bright background lights from any harbor, even the anchor light is a proper light, what you really can see from a two nautical miles distance, like the law says. And I have not seen LED or anchor lantern, which shows up so fare. I am more disappointed, if I buy new expensive charts or chart books and the don´t show a big mooring field, even this mooring balls stay more then five years in the bay or harbor! Or hundreds of lobster traps in the middle of the ICW without light. If I must get in a harbour or bay at night, because for some reason and I can not make it at daytime, I will be very careful and light my way in with a searchlight and normal very slow, so I will see the boats on anchor. Of course I will appreciate an anchor light any time. And those reckless idiots with power boats, running with full speed through an anchorage and mooring field at night, like it is in Chaguaramas, will not see the anchor light anyway! We nearly get capsized with our dinghy by daytime in Chaguaramas, because a power boat passed us with a big wake and no one from the authorities does anything about it. Maybe they wait till somebody gets killed, before they start any action against speeding in harbours and anchorages. But this happens not only in Trinidad, it is everywhere, special in Florida where every one can drive a boat without a license.

I think, if somebody has his boat eight months on the yard, then he stays three months in a marina, he is not a cruiser, he makes holiday on his boat. And I meet a lot of people on boats, they are sure not able to find any destination without GPS, because they have no seamanship, neither any idea from navigation at all. And I don´t talk about a sextant, they are not able to handle a bearing compass, not to mention a tidal triangle. And without GPS, it would be a lot more of space for the real cruisers in the anchorage bays in the Caribbean. So I think, it is a good idea from civilized countries like the most in Europe, that you must learn navigation and seamanship and get a license before you can handle a boat! But I say also always: "A license alone, makes not by a long way a skipper"!

I sail now more than 30 years and still learn every day, but SAILING GOONS not even try to learn. By the way: I live my life on a boat now very long, and if my time come and I have not the power and ability anymore to navigate and handle my boat, and I become dangerous to other cruisers, so I must show some consideration to stop living on my boat, even it will be very painful to me. Also I am responsible for the safety from my wife and partner and I can not put anybody in peril. Some of the so-called "cruisers" should think about it too!

This could become a endless story, so I will end now, all the best to the real cruisers and fair winds, even the wind will be always against the direction we want to go!

Skipper Erich Beyer

S.Y. Key of life
Austria
Postfach 377 A-1140 Wien

Report:

KRIS & SANDRA HARTFORD - s/v "NOMOTOS" - krssnda @ yahoo.ca

January 22, 2007

UNITED NATIONS OFFICE on DRUGS and CRIME website

Vienna International Centre
Wagramer Strasse 5
A-1400 Vienna
AUSTRIA

Subject: Campaign to combat crime in Venezuela

Dear Sir / Madam:

After our pirate attack we undertook a campaign to get the word out about crime in Venezuela and to combat that crime. In Venezuela tourists are being put at risk. Their property is being put at risk.

Initiating this campaign we had three objectives:

1) To present to cruisers considering a visit to Venezuela as accurate information as possible so that they can make informed decisions.

2) To present to cruisers visiting Venezuela as accurate information as possible so that they can better protect themselves and their property.

3) To effect changes within Venezuela to make it safer for cruisers.

This is our second Venezuelan Crime Report. Our first Crime Report covered crimes against cruisers in the State of Nueva Esparta. This Crime Report covers crimes against cruisers on the Mainland and on the offshore islands.

We love Venezuela and it's people. It is why we stayed in Venezuela so long in spite of having been robbed twice once with guns in our faces. The only times that we were robbed during our circumnavigation.

For the most part Venezuelans are warm and hard working. The cruiser crime is being perpetrated by a small minority of people. In our circumnavigation Venezuelans are the second friendliest people that we have visited.

Our Venezuelan friends are very angry and embarrassed as a result of the crime that visitors to their country are subjected to. They are dismayed that their country has garnered a reputation as the “Pirate & Thief Capital of the Caribbean”.

The accompanying list of embassies reflects the various nationals seen cruising Venezuela - nationals in many cases victims of Venezuelan crime. These embassies were copied so that once aware they will hopefully warn their nationals of the dangers of visiting Venezuela.

We welcome any assistance that you can render in making Venezuela safer for tourists of all kinds.

Yours truly;

Kris & Sandra Hartford

cc: SENOR SALVADOR NUNEZ Nueva Esparta Tourism Minister

cc: SENOR WILMAR CASTRO Venezuela Tourism Minister

A copy of this letter and a copy of our report have been sent to the following embassies:

Australia, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Columbia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Iceland, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad/Tobago, United Kingdom & U.S.A.

VENEZUELAN MAINLAND AND ISLAND PIRACY JANUARY 22, 2007

What follows are reports of Venezuelan Piracy incidents which have occurred off the Venezuelan mainland and some of the Venezuelan islands. Also included are reports of Piracy incidents that have occurred in the State of Nueva Esparta and were not covered in our Venezuelan Crime Report of January 26, 2006. Our January 26, 2006 Crime Report is available upon request. To the best of our knowledge no one was ever charged with these crimes and none of the stolen property was ever recovered by the authorities.

NOVEMBER 2006 ROBLEDAR

KARI TELLS THE STORY: On November 10th we anchored Lady Ann just outside of the small village of Robledal (11°01,5N 64°22.7 W (Isla Margarita/Venezuela) about six hundred meters off the pier. Around us were no sailboats, but quite a few local looking fishing boats anchored in front of us.

We were secure at anchor there about 5pm and enjoyed a quiet evening aboard before going early to bed, because we had a long day of sailing ahead – we intended to leave just before first light in the morning.

After unsuccessfully trying to fall a sleep, I got out of bed around midnight and opened the boat (which normally is locked and secured very well) in order to change the configuration of the anchoring so that the boat would turn into the waves that were keeping me awake.

I’d only just reached the bow when three men appeared out of the darkness rowing a very small boat silently up to Lady Ann and before I knew what was happening I had three guns pointing at me and two of the guys whipped them self’s aboard in seconds.

I knew that my wife was fast asleep inside and did not want to live with the consequence of them finding her there defenceless. Hence I called out for her to wake up and told her about the situation. Since I was speaking in Icelandic the guys didn’t understand what orders I was giving and who was taking the orders inside. This got them very agitated and they pushed me hard towards the cockpit with the guns pinned to my head.

ASLAUG’S VERSION: ´´We’ve been boarded by three men, which are all pointing a gun to my head!” We were the only boat anchored just out of the small village Robledal and as I awoke from that bad dream I felt for my husband in the dark, but to my dismay that was to no avail. He was not in our bed. This got me out of bed in such a haste that I was in the galley stark naked (it’s way to hot here to sleep in anything), as I looked out I saw that there were indeed men (with their faces covered) in the cockpit pointing guns at my husbands head.

I ran to the bedroom and gathered a bed sheet to cover me with and then ran to the VHF where I managed to make two or three distress calls before one of the guys had a gun pointed at my head and told me firmly (in Spanish) to go out to my husband.

I did still not quite comprehend the danger and instead of obeying the order I walked straight to the head (toilet) where I looked the door and in my innocence thought I would get some time there in peace to adjust.

The door on the head did not stop the beast from coming in there after me and now he was getting too frustrated for me to dare disobey again.

I humbly got out to the cockpit to where he steered me by pushing the gun to my head.

There my husband and I were tied together back to back and one of the thugs waited there with us, pointing a gun at us for over two hours while the other two completely trashed our boat and cleaned it of practically all electronic equipment.

They had boarded us around midnight and by two thirty one of them came out, threw a bed sheet over our heads and started bringing out the loot:

My mouth went absolutely dry when they put the blanket over our heads, for I was sure that now we’d either be shot or at least knocked unconscious so we’d not make a noise while they were getting away with their catch – can you imagine being tied by a gunman and then have your vision covered?

Thankfully they were not as violent as I dreaded and when they were satisfied that we owned absolutely nothing of value anymore they put everything in the little boat and left.

Getting our self’s untied after the most horrifying three hours in our lives we went into the boat where we faced the devastation people like that leave behind.

We didn’t know the village Robledal at all and for all we knew we might be asking the villains direction to the police station if we tried to get ashore by rowing our dinghy which they thankfully left behind (they took our dinghy motor and petrol tank of course), thus we decided to head straight to Porlamar on Lady Ann where we reckoned we’d get help from good people who speak better Spanish than we do and report this attack to the Coast Guard there.

The Coast Guard in Porlamar wrote down a report (12 hours after the attackers left our boat) and asked us to come back on Sunday morning to sign the report.

This is written on Tuesday morning (Nov. 14th) and we are keeping our fingers crossed that we may actually see some if not all of our belongings again and in fair condition – but honestly we will be very surprised and happy if that will happen.

A FEW POINTS ABOUT THE GUYS: One left his sweater behind when he put on my New York Marathon windbreaker, the sweater was not taken into evidence by the authorities and as soon as we get the chance (have a camera again) we’ll put a picture of that on our website.

The guys hardly spoke any English at all, but still enough to repeatedly pinning the gun on us and ask (in broken English) if we really didn’t have any more money (dollar or euro) that they’d found.

They kept telling us that we’d better not contact the police, and Kari bravely stated that if they only took our money we’d not talk to the police.

The guns they had were two revolvers and one automatic.

JULY 2006 LOS TRES PUNTOS - The information is as accurate as possible given that the French victim spoke so little English and was so difficult to understand.

The French flagged sailing vessel “Carina” with a singlehander aboard spent the night of July 5, 2006 anchored at Los Tres Puntos Venezuela. Leaving the next morning it is believed that “Carina” was followed.

Four miles out of Los Tres Puntos at 08:30 AM “Carina” was accosted by five Venezuelan military types (not “Guardia Costa”). There was no information provided on the accosting vessel.

The military types stated that they would search “Carina”. They boarded and ransacked the boat. After they left the Frenchman found $2,400 U.S. and some Euros missing. He proceeded to Carupano and reported the incident to Police.

APRIL 2006 ISLA CUBAGUA - At about midnight the yacht "Petrona" anchored off Isla Cubagua was boarded by a swimmer. The captain shone a big spotlight on the boarder and fired off a flare. The boarder dove over the side and was picked up by a penero.

APRIL 2006 PAMPATAR - At 03:30 AM: Belgian yacht "Monika" anchored in Pampatar was boarded and robbed. A man and two boys, all armed with knives stole cash and some valuables. The captain resisted somewhat and received superficial cuts to his face and wrist. He felt that his resistance had kept his losses low.

APRIL 2006 ISLA PIRITU - Austrian circumnavigator Claus Gintner survived an attack of 5 gunmen who boarded his yacht Escapada which anchored off Isla Piritu, Venzuela. The attackers were armed with one rifle and one revolver. They shot several times, one bullet hitting him in his chest. After they shot him, he tried to save himself in his dinghy by making for the shore but was pursued by the attackers who beat him up asking for money. They eventually left him to die and fled, but fortunately some locals found him and he was taken to a hospital. After two surgeries and the removal of one kidney his condition is no longer life-threatening.

NOVEMBER 2005 ISLA BORRACHA – Canadians Steve McVicar and his two crew had just set off on a two-week Caribbean cruise off the coast of Venezuela early last month when pirates turned their holiday into 30 minutes of helplessness and terror. The attack came the first evening out of Puerto la Cruz on the coast of Venezuela. McVicar had just spent two weeks working on the boat, and when his friends arrived, they headed 11 kilometers offshore to Isla Borracha and anchored for the night.

McVicar has kept Alioth, his 13-meter French-built steel-hulled ketch, in the Caribbean since 1999, and knows the waters well, having headed down for two-week trips three or four times a year. Both the Venezuelan coast guard and the national guard patrol the waters around Puerto la Cruz, and the bay they anchored in was reputed to be safe.

At about 07:00 PM the three were lounging in the cockpit, watching a DVD. McVicar, drowsy from a cold remedy, was not keeping a watch, and the sound of the movie muffled the noise of the outboard as a six-meter open fishing boat approached.

"All of a sudden, five armed men came on board and one of them put a shotgun right to my head," he recalled. "The others had pistols and a machete, and they ended up tying us up and proceeded to loot the boat."

The Canadians lay on the deck, bound hand and foot, with one pirate holding the shotgun on them while his companions ransacked the main cabin.

Nearby in the darkened aft cabin, McVicar's own shotgun and a handful of shells lay in plain sight on his bunk. Mercifully the pirates never looked there. "I shudder to think if they'd seen it," he said.

"You think, if only I had my gun on deck, I could have loaded it, which I usually do, but what if I had fired? What if they had a machine gun and fired back? You'd wind up having a firefight.

"That's what was going through my brain, so I offered no resistance, so it's just as well I didn't have my gun up there."

While he lay helpless, he could see into the main cabin, where the pirates were pawing through his gear and taking what they fancied – large sum of cash, computers, satellite phone, expensive sailing clothing, all of their electronics, dinghy / outboard and more.

There was worse to come. The pirates then took the woman down into the boat and molested her, taking her clothes off. McVicar and the woman's husband were afraid she might be taken ashore and raped, but she was left on the boat.

After 30 minutes, the pirates left, and after 10 minutes of twisting and squirming, the captives freed themselves. They contacted a French yacht lying at anchor about 300 meters away, which came to see if they were alright.

Assured they were, it left the bay immediately, as did McVicar, who took the Alioth straight back to Puerto la Cruz.

When reported the next day on the local cruisers net, the local dockmaster's reaction was: "everyone knows you don't anchor at Isla Borracha!" During the same period, there was an armed holdup at the travel agency in the Bahia Redonda compound, the marina manager was shot in the stomach during an attempted carjacking and the brother of one of our work crew was shot and killed by the police during and alleged robbery.

NOVEMBER 2005 ISLA PIRITU - The sailors do not wish to be identified.

Knowing that Venezuela is a "rough" place with little law and order I keep a gun aboard, and it was very handy!!!

We were anchored at Isla Piritu about 5 miles from the mainland. Big Mistake. Too close to land!! At about 9 PM I heard a small outboard, turned out the lights and with our binoculars watched three guys approaching in a small boat. I already had my gun with me. When they got close I told them to move away. Instead they raced to our catamaran's stern and one guy jumped aboard. I shot over his head. He jumped back into the boat and I covered all of them with my gun. They could see the muzzle of my gun, but not me, and I had them right in front of me.

Pleading they were poor fishermen wanting to give us fish they pulled away slowly. About 100 meters from us they sat and had a discussion. We got more ammunition and moved things around so that we had good cover. All of a sudden they came towards us very fast and as they turned for land started shooting. I just watched as they headed away, more scared of us than we were of them. I never fired back. For sure, we got the anchor up quickly and were drinking rum in Puerto La Cruz 3 hours later. We were lucky ... very lucky.

Sadly Laguna Grande has had two boardings in the past 6 months. Not safe anymore. We don't want to feel that we went cruising in Baghdad!

AUGUST 2005 LAGUNA GRANDE - In the bay next to us in Laguna Grande Golfo De Cariaco Venezuela at 11:15 PM pitch black with no moon Dwayne and Marilyn aboard the American catamaran "Tortilla Flat" (the only boat there at the time) were awakened by the sound of their dinghy being stolen. The dinghy a ten foot "Caribe" with a 15 HP "Yamaha" had been raised on aft davits tied but not chained or cabled.

At least four pirates had arrived in a penero. Two of them had swum over to the catamaran, climbed aboard the steps and cut the dinghy's lifting tackle and lines with a machete. They had to know that releasing the dinghy in this fashion would make a lot of noise. It is scary that they were not concerned. Dwayne had removed the plastic key from the outboard but the pirates were ready with their own key. This was obviously not their first theft.

Dwayne came out and started fighting with the two pirates on his boat's aft deck. "Tortilla Flat" at the time had no working flashlight or working lights on it's aft deck. Dwayne was hit repeatedly with a machete but in the pitch black thought that they were hitting him with a club.

When the pirates jumped into the water Dwayne followed to try and save his dinghy. Unbeknownst to him a third pirate was swimming the dinghy away. A fourth pirate jumped into the dinghy from the penero and attacked Dwayne with a machete. The pirates got the dinghy started and took off leaving Dwayne for dead. Dwayne swam back to his boat.

Marilyn spent quite some time stemming Dwayne's blood flow by applying compresses. She then weighed anchor and motored to our bay using radar and depthsounder. She was attracted by our bright anchor light and was successful in waking us. I was nervous going out of our locked cabin but the voice was female, she spoke English and I could hear an inboard instead of a penero. We cycled our alarm system and radioed the other boats in our bay for help. As quickly as we could we launched our dinghy and I went over the first one aboard.

I had never been exposed to anything like this. It was horrible with large pools of blood everywhere on the aft deck and the port steps. Dwayne had nine very deep cuts to his head, chest, arms, shoulders and back. He had great difficulty rolling over so that I could check the wounds on his back. The wounds were some two to four inches long through both layers of skin and fat and into muscle. I looked at all of the wounds and ascertained that none of them was bleeding.

Dwayne was lucid, shaking, throwing up occasionally from shock, reasonably calm and coping well with the pain. He was as comfortable as he could be. I checked three other boats by dinghy and / or radio to find out if any of them had any medical training or medical supplies. Medical supplies were not going to help much as Dwayne was not bleeding and his cuts were so severe that only a doctor with suturing could help.

The other boats and Sandra called "Maydays" in English and Spanish on HF as well as VHF but there was no response of any kind. In times of crisis in third world countries we have found that the cruisers generally have to do it themselves.

Greg of "New Passages" was the only other person to dinghy over to help. He knew the area and knew that help could be secured in Cumana some 12 miles two hours away. He volunteered to drive the victims' boat there. When the catamaran arrived at "Marina Cumanagoto" the night security there pulled out all of the stops calling anyone who spoke English and could help get Dwayne medical help. Dwayne was quickly transferred by ambulance to a private hospital and got first class care.

It took four days for the Authorities to visit Laguna Grande and investigate. As was the case with all of the other pirate attacks in Venezuela no one was charged and the Authorities did not recover any of the stolen property.

The marina quickly came to the rescue. They offered free of charge their big double outboard penero to take Greg home. The trip took only 15 minutes. A fast boat when the alarm was raised is the sort of thing which should have been available from the Authorities in the first place. The time that was lost for the catamaran to motor two hours to Cumana could have had Dwayne's non-life threatening injuries kill him.

Dwayne was interviewed by the local media and the Authorities the next day in the hospital. He recovered extremely well and was out of the hospital within four days.

JULY 2005 LAGUNA CHICA - Australian singlehander "Wombat" was in the news again only 24 hours after having his outboard stolen in Porlamar. Anchored by himself in Laguna Chica two bays west of Laguna Grande he was boarded at night by pirates armed with knives. He was subdued and his boat was stripped.

MAY 2005 CARENERO - The catamaran "Madam", a Bahia 46, with owners Bruno and his wife Catherine on board, was anchored in Carenero, Venezuela, a hundred yards or so from the Carenero Yacht Club.

On May 13 2005, at 2am, we were boarded by two young local guys, there was probably a third one waiting in a small boat. They stole binoculars, shoes and some portable electronics. Bruno woke-up and fought with them, taking from them a bat and a hammer they were using as weapons. One of the two thieves wanted to kill him ("lo mato!") with a knife but the other said to leave. They jumped in the water and left, taking the gear and leaving their knife in the cockpit.

We then heard a shot and impact of a projectile in the water close to the boat. We called for help on CH16: after some time, some local "vigilancia" relayed the call in better spanish but no authority responded or showed up. Only the private guards of the nearby hotel called us and told us we could come anchor a hundred yards closer to them. We later learned that the Guardia Nacional sent a patrol on shore, but had no boat to come close to us.

Despite numerous "mayday" calls between 2:10am and 6:00am no authority responded on CH16.

Around 7am in the morning, Bruno went to see the Guardia Nacional ashore: they finally made it to the boat at 10:15am, took our deposition and the evidences of armed robbery left by the thieves: a big knife and a 3ft bat. Later came an officer from the "Capitania de Puerto Carenero" who wrote a report of the incident. To this hour, both have been very reluctant to give us any copy, even that of our own deposition.

We invite you to broadcast this information as widely as possible in the hope to get more efficient reactions from the Venezuelian authorities.

JUNE 2004 ENSENADA MEDINA - There have been several reports of piracy involving yachts on the Venezuelan coast in 2004, but the following has been the most serious. The captain of the French yacht "Les Chouans" was found shot dead on his yacht, apparently coming out of the cabin. The singlehander was anchored for several days at Ensenada Medina, Venezuela, in company with another French boat. The second yacht left for Grenada early on June 17, with Les Chouans intending to leave soon after for Los Testigos. The two yachts had VHF contact about 9 a.m. After several days of no contact, the Venezuelan Coast Guard found Les Chouans in a small cove apparently adrift, i.e. the anchor was on deck, the engine was not running, and the sails were furled. The captain was found with a gunshot to the head, and numerous valuables were discovered missing.

The second boat was contacted via the Security Net and the French Net, and is returning to their home port in Martinique to assist French authorities, who are cooperating with the Venezuelan authorities in the investigation.

FEBRUARY 2004 PUNTA PARGO - This is a report concerning an armed robbery in Punta Pargo on my sailing yacht Myriad, a 40 feet aluminum sloop of French registry, and the murder attempt on the one person aboard, myself, Robert Monnier, traveling from Cumanà to Trinidad.

I was aware of the security situation on the Paria peninsula between Araya and Punta Mejillones. I thought of motorsailing mostly at night, and avoiding the Puerto Santos area. I wrongly assumed the security to be better on the East side of the peninsula.

After stops on the way in Isla Lobos for the first night and then in Carùpano for part of the next day, I motored overnight to Punta Pargo (10.43N 62.034W) and anchored there on Saturday February 28th at 09:15, planning to go the next day to Cabo San Francisco and leave early Monday for Trinidad.

I had various contacts with kids swimming to the boat to whom I gave caps, with a fishing boat that was in need of fasteners – a few were given to them. I strolled ashore, spoke with people then went back on board.

I had a very good contact with a fishing vessel, Papanian II, anchored close by and the mate Daniel, who speaks good English. They invited me to share a lunch of grilled fish, rice and arepas. Papanian II buys fish from the local fishermen and runs it to Trinidad where it is processed.

Late in the evening, the bay started filling up with fishing boats coming in for the night, which gave me some misgivings. Myriad was the only sailing yacht in the bay. I took the bimini down over the transom, which makes boarding the cockpit from the sugar spoon area awkward and difficult. I settled to sleep in the cockpit at about 21:30, the dinghy tied up to the stern with a painter – a rigid bottom Bombard with rowing bench and oars. The outboard is stored on the transom railing.

At about 22.15, I was awakened by voices and noticed the presence of two or more men on the platform at the stern. I immediately started shouting loudly at them in Spanish to get away. There were voices and the flickering light of a torch (wood? gazoline-soaked rag?) coming from the starboard side, probably from the llanchita (small wooden dinghy with oars, no engine) they must have used to reach Myriad. I realized that one of the men had a facemask and then assumed that the situation was the most dangerous. I jumped through the companionway still shouting and started looking for flares. In the five, ten or fifteen following seconds, as I was rummaging for the flares, the intruders were trying to induce me to come out with soothing words: "Amigo, venga, venga". I perhaps poked my head out to see if they had come into the cockpit, went down again for the flares. More or less at the same time two things happened: a shot was fired and I triggered a flare holding it the wrong way and hurting my thumb. The intense pain prevented me from realizing that the shot had been directed inside the cabin. Subsequently I continued shouting at them to leave, begging them not to come on board and not to take the dinghy, screaming in the VHF a mayday that I knew nobody would respond to.

I don't remember what they might have said at that time, I was struggling with the flares, they perhaps thought I had a weapon. They were still trying to get me to come out. One of the men, the masked one I think, made some very clear death threats, I don't recall exactly if this was before or after the gunshot. I was still screaming, allowing silence to hear what they would say or trying to find out about their movements. After a while I couldn't hear anything coming from the stern, but couldn't know if the intruders weren't standing still waiting for me or if they had gone.

After a few moments of calm, I came out cautiously trying not to get shot in the process and noticed no presence. I could see the dinghy rowed away with two men on board, barely visible along the cliff closing the bay on the East, towards the North, away from the beach. I started monitoring their progress with binoculars. The llanchita wasn't there. In the following minutes the dinghy was met by a motorized fishing llancha (roofless fishing boat). The group was about 600 to 800 yards away apparently struggling to deflate the dinghy or take it aboard. The llancha pulled the dinghy further out and then West. It was not possible to determine whether the group was headed for some place further down the coast to the West (Ensenada Mejillones?) or if they stopped at the furthest fishing boat, perhaps before returning to the shore in Punta Pargo. I went back and explored the inside with a doused torch. I then noticed the tracks of the gunshot on the roof of the companionway damaging wood on the headliner and battens.

I also took stock of the fact that my head had been in the track of the gunshot a fraction of a second before it flew inside Myriad.

I tried then to make plans for the rest of the night and decided it was not possible to stay alone on Myriad for the night – I would have felt insecure, and I realized I didn't have the means to deal with another attempt. I summarily closed Myriad, went quietly into the water, swam to Papanian II and woke them up. They hadn't heard a thing. I asked for shelter and spent the night there mostly not sleeping but looking at Myriad barely visible in the dark a hundred and fifty yards away, seeing of course hordes of attackers boarding her from all sides.

At first light I swam back to Myriad (Papanian II doesn't have a dinghy) and was happy to realize that she had not been visited again. With daylight and freshly brewed tea I was able to take stock of the damage – a quantity of wood shards littering the floor, big splinters of the overhead battens, one shot finding its way through the roof panel and inside the insulation - but overall mostly cosmetic, no navigation instrument or other equipment damaged. Daniel and a friend from Papaniam II came aboard and were very sympathetic, helping me to clean and comforting me. We then noticed a half dozen holes in the forward bulkhead and a broken lamp. Later on I realized these pellets continued to do damage on the other side of the panel, piercing aluminum tubes and paddles for a kayak. Shortly after I left to complete my trip to Trinidad.

In conclusion

The intruders probably approached Myriad in a small llanchita. Two of them made off with the dinghy, the rest with the llanchita. They couldn’t have swum to the boat, as the upper part of their body seemed dry. The one wearing a facemask seemed to me fairly young –not over 30. An older man was present, not wearing a mask. I do not know who fired the shot but assume it was the masked intruder. This man uttered some death threats in Spanish - something like ”calla te o te mato” but much more expressive - not loudly (not to be overheard by the fishing boat anchored very close?) but in a voice with some unmistakable intentions in it. Where these men from Punta Pargo, from another settlement on the coast, from a fishing boat, or a combination?

The bimini made ingress difficult and awkward but also somewhat prevented me from seeing the major part of the intruder’s bodies or someone hidden underneath.

It seems the intruders were not happy with the nearby presence of other fishing boats that might have become aware of what was going on. The nearest fishing boat clearly was aware of something but didn’t interfere – anyway it wouldn’t have done any good, they didn't have a dinghy either, their engine had trouble starting and the prospective of being fired at could not be more desirable on their side than on mine.

The firearm used is most probably a shotgun – one empty 12 gauge cartridge was left behind, a few pellets were collected in a cushion or badly deformed by their track. Shotguns are a part of daily life in Venezuela, seen everyday and everywhere. They fire one shot at a time and need to be reloaded for the next shot. The fact that one empty cartridge was left behind may mean that the shooter had reloaded. It may also have been a homebrew firearm, fairly common in Venezuela too. The cartridge is rusty.

It is clear that the intentions of the intruders were the worst that can be imagined and I realize how fortunate I am to be alive to tell this story, with no physical wounds and not in an utter state of terror. I am very happy – and lucky too – that the engineless dinghy was enough to satisfy them and that Myriad was not vandalized.

I was wrong in my assumption that anchorages east of Cabo Tres Puntos, however remote from Puerto Santos, would be safe. If I had studied the recent events, I perhaps would have been in the opinion that there could be no absolutely safe harbor except perhaps Carùpano where you can anchor a couple hundred yards from the Vigilancia. I could have continued straight to Trinidad on Friday, but was ahead on my schedule and wished to spend some time resting and cleaning the boat. I also wanted, ideally, to avoid the overtime tax in Trinidad, but ended up arriving Sunday anyway.

One will make his own recomendations to the light of this event– whether to go or not to go, what precautions to take, how to behave or that sort of things. Things worked pretty well in my favor in this instance – but I have just been very lucky. It could have been much, much worse. In my mind are the ordeals that others have been through and the cruelty with which they have been treated.

JUNE 2003 CARENERO - Americans "Galadriel" and "Nikka" returning from the ABCs decided to spend the night together at Carenero an anchorage just to the west of Puerto La Cruz. At 8:30 PM or so "Galadriel" was attacked by pirates. The pirates were armed with a gun. The boat's crew was made to throw all of their knives overboard. During the encounter the captain was hit in the head with the gun. Their boat was robbed of cash and valuables. Before the pirates left the crew was tied up. Nearby "Nikka" did not hear a thing.

JANUARY 2003 CABO TRES PUNTAS - On 10 January a Spanish sailing boat was stopped by a little speedboat 3 miles off the Venezuela coast at "Cabo Tres Puntas". The pirates were all masked, all armed with pistols and machetes and one even had a machine gun which was believed to be an "UZI".

The two Spanish sailors were held at gunpoint when the pirates searched the boat. Only cash money and credit cards were stolen. Luckily, nobody was injured.

People who know Venezuela better than us believe that these were organized pirates, who knew the procedure of yachts waiting behind "Cabo tres Puntas" before carrying on east through the night when the wind is light close to the coast.

AUGUST 2002 CARENERO - On 29 August, Miss P., a Gulfstar 47 was boarded by five armed men in Careano, Venezuela, about 60nm west of Puerto la Cruz. The skipper was pistol whipped with a gun, had his face broken as well as three ribs. The other crew on board was tied up and a blanket thrown over him. The men stole the dinghy and outboard, and ransacked the boat.

The US Coast Guard have been informed.

MARCH 2001 PUNTA TOLETA - On March 19th we sailed from Margarita in an ENE wind, heading for the Venezuelan coast where the current is weaker as well as the wind. Next morning was beautiful, no wind, calm water with a slight swell and we skipped the first anchorage and headed for the Bay of San Francisco. The engine was running at "vacation speed" and we were making about 5 knots with no vessels to be seen. As we progressed east, I had noted that the land was very desolate, no villages, no roads, no smoke from burning fires in the hillsides. This must be land's end was my thought.

At noon when I was serving lunch in the cockpit, we saw a pirogue coming from behind us. The pirogue was filled with men; they came alongside and started asking for cigarettes in Spanish. My husband went outside the cockpit and told them we had no cigarettes. Then everything happened very fast. I heard a gunshot, my husband screaming "No" several times in anguish and he came back in the cockpit. I saw he was hit and pushed him down below where he collapsed on the floor. At the same time four men with guns came on board and three of them entered the doghouse. They wanted jewellery and money. When I told them we had neither they were very upset, they apparently did not believe me. My husband tried to talk and lifted his head; one of the men put his pistol to my husband's head.

I was screaming and this made them very nervous. They took a knife in the galley and threatened me with it; they wanted me to be quiet. Then two of the men started grabbing things which were around like binoculars, sandals, sunglasses, chewing gum, flippers, snorkels, masks, a Sony Walkman, a portable GPS, a handheld echo sounder, watches, a life vest, a small camera etc. They demanded alcohol and I gave them three bottles of rum and some beer. They found a purse with a few Bolivar's and also our credit cards in a small plastic bag. When I begged for the cards, they threw them back. Locker doors were torn open and the contents thrown about.

Finally I stopped screaming and said "finito - me marido muerte" and went towards them. They indicated that my husband's wound was nothing serious and then they collected the stuff in a sleeping bag and went outside. I was told to sit down in the cockpit, when I stood up, one came back with his gun pointing at me.

In the pirogue circling the boat there were two men, one of them looking like an elderly fisherman. They jumped into the pirogue and sped away. The pirogue was white with a green stripe, no name, and no number. It had a big grey outboard engine as well as a big black smudge on the starboard side at the rear end. I took the position, N10 44.6 W62 22.1 near Punta Toleta. My husband was conscious, complained of pain in the abdomen and was bleeding from the wound on his back below the waist. After covering the wound and moving him outside, I started on the HF radio, frequency 2182. Very quiet. The two VHF sets had been ruined by the banditos, the cables were torn off.

My husband told me to activate the EPIRB, which I did. Handheld VHF was used until the battery went flat. There was no talk on the HF-radio and I was searching the frequencies. Finally I thought I had to wait for Southbound II to come on at 2000 UT. At 1900 UT I found people talking on the frequency 14000 MHz and could finally relay a Mayday message and get an answer. The people assisting me were very professional; I could even consult a doctor. My husband was still conscious, in pain and bleeding while lying in the cockpit. He was very calm assisting me and not complaining. Sometimes my head went absolutely empty and simple routine things I had done hundreds of times were very difficult. I could not understand why the autopilot did not work until my husband told me that the transmitting was disturbing it. This is a daily problem and I often hand steer when my husband is on the radio. We headed for the Grand Boca and just before sunset I spotted the vessel from the Trinidad & Tobago Coast Guard. Just 10 minutes earlier a Venezuelan Coast Guard vessel wanted me to come alongside. The heavy swell made such a manoeuvre very risky and when I realized that the vessel was from Venezuela, I turned again and headed for Boca Grande.

The Trinidad & Tobago Coast Guard put a big rubber dinghy in the water, two paramedics and two seamen came on board Lorna. What a relief to have professional assistance. Now we headed into the narrow channel on the north side of Chacachacare where we could go alongside a Coast Guard vessel and my husband was placed on a stretcher and transferred to the boat. The two seamen stayed with me, took Lorna to the Coast Guard station where a car took me to the hospital so I could see my husband and talk to the doctor. After 5 hours of abdominal surgery the bullet was removed. The doctor told me that my husband is a fighter and his strong determination would help him through. I want to thank the Trinidad & Tobago Coast Guard for their assistance, the net controller Bob and everyone else helping out on the radio. The SSB saved the day and with the help of the friendly people in Trinidad & Tobago and the cruisers, we will get over this and head for more peaceful waters.

Note....

This is the second recent pirate incident reported by the Boca that involved a sailing vessel traveling along the north coast of Venezuela toward Trinidad. In each case violence had erupted. (See Dutch Concrete Attacked - Boca January 2001). It is suggested for sailing vessels transiting the desolate Venezuelan coast, travel in the company of a buddy boat. In the last report prior to publication, St. Clair Medical listed Lorna husband, Bo, as satisfactory improving slowly.

Florida 2001 to Venezuela 2005

Again nobody came or called back and so I try again to call Sea Tow and again they told me they on the way! After 30 minutes I called Sea Tow again and told them not to come because the water was going down to much now and he can't tow me down now! I told them it would be better to tow me at midnight if the tide goes up again!!

Time 2200 Wind comes from SW with 2-3 BFT and we rocking and bump on ground so I call Sea Tow many times but don´t get answer!!! At 2300 hours we get alone with our motor (25 Horsepower) shortly free but stuck on ground again after 0,2 SM, I give up at 0020 because there is also another great problem, that in the ICW are many buoys from lobster traps and I must be carefully that I don't get the ropes in my propeller!!! I get Sea Tow on the VHF and again the promised to call me back!!

SUNDAY 14. JANUARY 2001

Again nobody calls me back and we still rocking and bumping on ground, it was terrible so I try again to call Sea Tow! Only the Coast Guard gives a reply and helps me to call Sea Tow on the telephone, and then the Coast Guard tells me that Sea Tow doesn't come tonight, they will come in the morning at 0800 o'clock. This is very stupid, because then it will be low tide again!! So I call Sea Tow again and get contacts after many calls and ask him why he doesn't come now. He tells me it is to risky in the night to damage my boat by towing me down but he doesn't care that we bumping on ground the whole time and get damage on the hull anyway if the wind get stronger !! So we bumping on ground further on and the wind changes to NNE with 3 BFT and we rocking and bumping many times!!

Time 0200 we try again to get free but after short time and 0,1 SM we stuck again and I give up at 0250 hours! ( Position 24°57'95 N - 80°37'73 W )

Time 0900 motorboats passing full speed through the channel and are close by our boat, nobody cares for boats on anchor or stuck on ground anyway!! The wakes from two big powerboat which are passing with full speed even by this strong fog bump us really strong and push us through a rock that we heeling 10° on the side!! If Sea Tow had towed us at midnight we would not be in this situation!

Time 1000 I call Sea Tow many times but no reply, after 30 minutes I get a reply from Sea Tow Key Largo and again they promised to call back!!! Nobody calls back and I start to call again and after many calls again I get Sea Tow on the VHF and I speak to the guy that he doesn’t forget to come at noon if the tide goes up!! He promises to come to the right time again!!!

Time 1200 we bumping on ground again by all boats what passing by with full speed, even the marine patrol passing by full speed and makes wakes that we rocking and bumping again!!! I see they tow boat with the marine patrol boat on a shallow area SW from us, fare away from the ICW and that he tows a boat which was running this morning full speed on ground in the foggy weather! Why he tows this boat before us, I don't know???? I call again but don't get a reply!!!

Time 1300 we realize that the water is going back and still no reply on my call!!! Sea Tow comes 1350 and I ask him why he tows three other boats before me?? He tells me, because we are the biggest and heaviest boat and for that reason he takes us last!!! I tell the true, I don't understand this reason at all! He writes my dates down and speaks to somebody on the telephone that he will charge me anyway, because a "ferro cement" boat doesn't get "soft on ground"! I ask him what he means and he tells me it will cost 1200.- Dollar to tow me, because I’m "hard on ground"! I start arguments and tell him, that he doesn't answer me and he doesn't come to the right time and for this he will charge me?? After that I go really upset and I tell him I will suit his company for this kind of treatment. He changes the form and let me sign an other form that he will be not responsible to any damage on the hull! Than he gives me his rope and turn my bow to the right side direction north and tow me free from this spot, and after ca. 100 Yards he gives me free and tells me, if I get on ground again he will charge me!!! He gives me the advise that it is better to go back, because I have no change to go further on, because there is only 5 feet at high tide, my new chart book says different things but I believe him and we go back! After ca. 200 Yards we stuck again because the tide goes back again! He doesn't want to help us without paying and I tell him we don't have so much money to spend it so easy and we will wait that the high tide come back! I think he feels sorry for us and he gives us the line again and tows us over this shallow area. I was very thankful for this, but it is sure, that is not our fault that he came so late!!

We go only to Cross Bank - Cowpens Cut and set the anchor to wait for the next day and high tide to go back through the ICW!

MONDAY 15. JANUARY 2001

We go in time back that we have on the way high tide, but at 1258 we stuck again in the ICW between marker 58 and 58A ! Again I call Sea Tow and they tell me they will come soon! Again 95% from the powerboats passing full speed by and we rocking and bumping all times, nobody cares! After one hour nobody calls or comes, only at 1352 a Park Ranger Boat passing by with full speed and we bumping again on ground, he checks the markers if we are not out of the ICW and than he confirms to someone on the VHF that we are in the ICW and not in the park area! He calls for us Sea Tow again and I hear on the VHF that they say to him, they already know me and I don't want pay!! Than the Ranger told us they are one the way! I stop my engine because it starts to make a lot of smoke and get hot, because we let the motor run to hold the bow in the line from the ICW. I put the anchor down and of course immediately the bow turn on BB side before the anchor hold us. Again I call Sea Tow and ask how long they will need to come because I don't want wait so long again that the tide go down again! He tells me on the VHF that the ranger told him we are moving and for this reason he was going back!!! I tell him that this is "bullshit" and we still stuck on ground and rocking and bumping on ground only my bow turn on the side until the anchor holds! The Sea Tow boat comes at 1430 and he tows me free but sure he doesn't use much power for this action like he wants to proof that we are "hard on ground" but we get free easy! I ask him if it's possible to tow me to "Blackwater sound" because my engine was going hot and smokes a lot. He tells me "no" because my engine is running now and he will send me a mechanic man if I get problems and then he leaves!

I try to call Sea Tow base Key Largo on the VHF and now the Sea Tow boat comes back and asks what I want! I was really angry and upset and tell him, that I will make a lawsuit if my motor gets some damaged. Now he tells me that I have no rights because my membership is terminated!!! We go back and the motor make it to the "Blackwater Sound" but I am not sure if there is no damage because it smokes more then normal and the engine needs very long to start now! I must check the motor and find out what’s happened, the temperature is all right after cleaning the water filters now, but I think it will be some damage, but I hope not much! I was diving and check the hull and see some damage on the hull already, which is sure not fun!!

I ask now:

1. Why the call this INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY if boats with only 4 feet draft stuck on ground if they come out only a little bit of the centerline?

If this is a "Waterway" than also it has to be a depth in it that makes a possibility to navigate with boats! For what reason they have made the markers if nobody maintenance this "Waterway"??? And please don't tell me that this is because of Hurricane Andrew, this was many years ago and even in the deepest Russian they clean the channels and waterway in this time!!!

2. If this ICW is not to navigate for boats with 6 feet draft even by high tide, why they don't put some signs on after "Biscayne bay" that the ICW is forbidden for boats with 6 feet draft??? It gives hundreds of signs in this country on all places for littering and parking and so on, why not on the ICW???

3. Why nobody from the Ranger or Coast Guard takes care that not hundreds of "Lobster Trap Buoys" are laying in the middle of the ICW and we must go on a "zig - zag" course??? This is the same thing like you can’t make some "Bear Trap" on a highway!! They only care if you make some damage out of the ICW to the Park Area that they can give you a fine with 1000.- $.

4. Why let Sea Tow a member waiting so long, maybe only for that reason that they can say: Now you are "hard on ground" and we charge you 1200.- Dollar

5. Why only 5% from the boaters know what is a real "seamanship" and take care for other boaters? Nearly nobody cares for boats on anchor or cares for emergency calls on the VHF! I sail 25 years and made more than 70.000 nautical miles, but these things are not even happened in the oldest Yugoslavia country! If this is "freedom" that nobody needs a license for boating and can do what they like and nobody cares, neither it give some order nor law for boaters, than I can resign for this kind of "freedom"!

Even if I will get now many problems, but somebody has to speak the true once, because in Austria we are not afraid to speak out what we think!!! Here the most of the people be afraid to say anything against Government, Police, Coast Guard or Park Ranger, because the really afraid to get treat very bad after they have said anything against this organizations!! This will be easy to proof, because I think that the calls on the VHF will be recorded anyway so it is easy on court for a judge to find out who is right in this case!

I write in my logbook now more than 20 Years very correctly, and all this data are written down also to verify this story.

Blackwater Sound/Key Largo 17.01.2001

To: Tourist Minister Ibrahim FERRADAZ

Director Marina ACUA

Commander Coast Guard Varadero

Varadero 30th March 2001

SUBJECT:

As an Austrian journalist and writer, I have some questions about the treatment and hassles from the coast guard to the crew and passengers from sailing and motor yachts, visiting Cuba beautiful sea and land.
We pay for a Visa, what give us the permission to visit the country everywhere, except military bases or so, of course. But the commander from the coast guard give us the order, that it is forbidden to bring people on shore with the dingy, even on such tourist places like Varadero!!! I don't find it written in the cruising permit or any books and cruising guides, even not in that book from Cuba what we get from the Marina Acua, that there is a law, what forbid to go on shore with the dingy. It looks like as if the commander judges his private law to get the boat tourist into a lot of troubles and problems, and sure to enjoy the holiday on a boat become very difficult!!
For many reasons I think, this is not the right way to bring more cruising boats to Cuba and sure not the best for the tourist business. These are the points what I don't understand and I want to know how you can enjoy a holiday in Cuba under these circumstances?

1.) We get no permission to go ashore to buy some food in a supermarket. The coast guard mean, if we want go shopping we must Go back 20 NM in the Marina to buy some bread, this is ridiculous!

2.) The coast guard force us to go back after five day in the marina from sailing in the bay of cardenas to get an extension for other five days! Only with arguments I get 10 days permitted, who make this kind of law???

3.) It is forbidden to go ashore to spend money and go eat in a restaurant in Varadero, or Marina Chapelin or Marina Gaviota!

I think, this is not the way to treat tourists and I hope there will be some changes soon. What I can write in my story about Cuba?

Sincerly Dir. Erich BEYER

We stay on our sailing boat "Key of life" and sailing on the coast from Florida to visit the USA. I am a journalist and writer from Austria and write about our traveling in some yacht magazines in Austria and Germany and I write also a book from this journey and I want to know why yacht people get treated like we get in the "Sombrero Marina"?? I always was thinking, USA is a country where is freedom, the only freedom what we get here is to pay on every place and we have not even a chance to find a place to go ashore with the dingy, without paying!! I was thinking, boot key harbor is a public harbor, but without place to go ashore??? How it can be public, if you don't get a chance to go on land with the Dingy?? And why he is called at a port of entry??

I was talking to the owner from "Dockside Lounge" and he force anyone to pay a Dingy dock if you want go shopping food ore make a telephone call!!! Only if you get some drink before in the bar, than you allowed going to Puplix shopping!! This treatment is for me harassing, to force people to go in his bar and drink; ore pay 3 Dollar for the Dingy Dock a day!! This mean also, he force people to pay 3 Dollar, if they want go to the church!! Where is this "freedom" for religion what I was thinking it exist in the USA??? Why it gives no place to go ashore without paying in boot key harbor??? Is this the way, to treat yacht people what coming down to Florida and visiting the keys??? The owner from "Dockside" let us pay 3 Dollar for the Dingy, because we bring one small plastic bag of trash on land!!!! It is alright to pay for the trash to private marinas like the Sombrero Marina, but 3 Dollar for a small bag is a little to much, and I don't like to get forced in this way from the owner, because the government have no facilities that we can put our trash in, or go ashore!! I think it is enough to pay for 1 Gallon water 5 cent if you pick it up from the marina, even the quality is not very good, and we must pay for it. The water in Key West was free, so in Dinner key, I don't understand this! Also if you want let your bike ashore you must pay 3 $ for it, or they looked it on a chain, like they do with they dingis without stickers!!! Thanks for this kind of freedom!!

Also it is the same in "Florida Key Marina" no chance to go on land to the library without paying dingy dock!!

And again was happened to me and my wife in Sombrero Marina 14th October 2001 sunday evening! This continues my story from 9. October what I have already send (emails) to some magazine! Today we have some drink in the Dockside lounge and fetch some water, what we paid (10 Gallon for 50 Cent) and talking to some friends! The last time I talk to the owner from Dockside lounge, Sombrero Marina, he said to me, if you have a drink in the bar, you don't must pay Dingy Dock fee. This time he see me and my wife, he send the woman from the Bar and one guy to me and let me know, that I must pay also Dingy Dock, even I have a drink! ( I think, because I am the only one what am not afraid to complain against the dingy dock fee) She also told me, it is same, and I’m not allowed to stay on the Dock without paying, also not to go in the church!! We must pay, and if we come again and don't pay, she threaten me really bad, that she will call the police and let me bring to jail!!! For me it looks like racism, because I have no other explanations that only we get a sticker with a warning an our dingy, but it was three dingy more on the dock without sticker, but nobody border them, why?? Maybe because we are from Austria and used to it, to speak out what we think even if the owner don’t like it??? But it is alright for the owner, that some yachts staying hours long side by the bar "free" without paying fee, because the drink a lot, and nobody care if the sail away late at night full trunk!!!

Is this the way to treat tourist in Marathon, they spend their money in the city?? What we can to?? We not able to make a telephone call, because we not allowed going ashore, nowhere, because it give no public dock and we get forced to pay?? And from the owner we get threaten and harassed!!! Is this what you called "freedom"?? I travel more then 25 years with boats, but like this I not even get treated in the worst communist countries! Normal in the whole world, you can dock in the Marinas for a few hours to go shopping WITHOUT paying anything, but not in the USA! I feel very sorry for the greedy owner from Sombrero Marina, because in the normal way, the American People are very helpful and friendly, but this owner, a man of no importance, give a very bad recommendation to this country!

Sincerely Erich Beyer

P.S.: Sorry for me terrible English, but I hope you will understand and you are not afraid to bring this letter!!

Hi !

If you remember, last year you bring my story from Dockside Sombrero Marina in Marathon in your magazine, so here comes the continuation! Under a lot of circumstances, we are turning back from our trip over the Atlantic to Europe, and decide to go to New Orleans so we stop again in Marathon! We meet some friend and we get the permission from our friend what stay in a dock from Dockside Sombrero Marina with his boat, to dock our dinghy back on his boat to go ashore! So I look after his boat and help his wife with the rope to tie the boat, if something happened, in the time he was on the way as a skipper on a charter boat! Of course the first time the owner from Dockside see me tie up our dinghy behind my friends boat, he running along the dock to catch me and my wife in the moment we go ashore! He bring also a second guy with him, I don't know why, but looks like a bodyguard to me. He stops my wife and me and told me to go off of his property, or he will call the police!! Because he read my story from last year in your magazine so he don't like me very much! But I don't care, and told him, that I have the permission to go over my friends boat ashore, so if he like, he can call the police anyway! So he told me, my friend will loose the contract for the dock space because he is not allowed to let me go on his boat, if the owner don't like me! Also he mean really serious that my friend is not allowed to borrow me his bike, because of the story what I have written! So I must tell him, that is better he call the police because I think what he do now, is Really harass and sure not right! After some arguments, I think he know, that he go over the line and a little to fare, he still have his drink in the hand, he apologize and let me know, that what I write last year was a misunderstanding about the dinghy dock fee! He want me to clear this in my next story if I were honest. So I hope you bring this story to make this clear what he mean!!! He told me now what he means. The dinghy dock is NOT free, but if you go long side with the dinghy in front of the restaurant and have a drink, you can stay free! Last year the dock from the bar was not ready so this was the misunderstanding with the dinghy dock! I don't know if you also be allowed to go to Puplix or so, but it makes not much sense for me anyway! Because maybe I occupied the space in front of the bar with my dinghy to have a coffee and maybe some big yachts what want come for dinner with more people and have not space on the dock, because it is full with dinghy's what have a drink! But this is not my business anyway, so I hope I have brought this clear now.
For me it was a bad experience again, and I don't know how Florida gets tourist if they get treated likes us. This is like the mooring field from City Marina now. From more than 20 mooring balls are five used, the rest is empty! Still you must pay extra for dinghy dock, even you rent a mooring for a month or more! And still I don't understand, why I have paid for a Visa to visit the USA and I'm not allowed to go ashore, if I not pay every time 3-4 Dollar if I want go on land!! By the time I get my Visa nobody tell me this, that I must pay every time to go ashore! I don't think this have anything to do with an international maritime law! Maritime laws a normally international in the whole world and everywhere equal, but like it looks, not in the USA.
Again, I feel sorry for this kind of "freedom" in this country, special for boaters. But many thanks to all the friendly people what we meet in this country and the good experience what we have with them.

Sincerely Skipper Erich Beyer

P.S.: Sorry for my terrible english!

Marathon Florida 19.September 2002

With this following story, we was by the state attorney, but he can´t help us and send us to the sheriff office where we report our complain! After their investigation, we get an order from the police, that we are not allowed trespassing the property from Dockside again, or we go in jail on the spot. But also, our friend who pays his rent for the dock space, is not allowed to take us as a guest on his boat, he has also no right even if he pays nearly 400.- $ in a month! Also we learned from the police officer, that all what Larry talk with me means nothing, because he has nothing to say, because he is not the owner!, the owner is his wife Karen and she made this decision that we not allowed to trespassing. But I don't know, why always he was talking to me in the last year and not his wife. I don't know if there is a law against this treatment in the USA because I am not a lawyer, but if I do this in Austria against some jewish people, I will be called a NAZI !! And sure this will not attract many tourists to come for holiday to Marathon, special in Dockside Sombrero Marina. So we must begging again by some people with private property, to go ashore without paying anytime 3 Dollar dinghy fee! So our Visa means nothing, because we are not allowed in Marathon to go ashore without paying!! And so, if somebody don't like my "nose" and give us no permission to trespassing, we are not able to step on USA ground, even we have paid for a proper USA Visa! And this is called a port of entrance? This is ridiculous! Is this is a free country??? I am not sure anymore!

On 18. September 2002 at 1600 hour, we get again treated like criminals from Sombrero Dockside Marina workers. But now this was enough for me and I will bring this as report, if necessarily to the Embassy of Austria and to the Minister of tourism in Florida and to the governor, so to all newspaper and television station what I can get, if the authorities from Marathon do nothing against this treatment and harass against us! As a free journalist from a free country like Austria, I don‘t understand that people get treated like this in the USA!

After many times the threaten and harass us in Dockside, come on this day the point what is for me enough to be threaten from the woman from the bar she will call the police and bring me in jail if I not go off from my friends boat! (I am not sure, but I think here name is Nancy and she has red hair.)

After the last talk with the owner of dockside Larry (you can read the story in the October issue from South wind sails) this woman come again after me and my wife in the time we stay on our friends boat to help him with some questions about the reef in his main sail. So she come to me and threaten me that she will call the police and let bring me in jail if I don´t go off the marina. I told her, that I am a guest on my friend Harry‘s boat and I have his permission to dock my dingy behind his boat. Even my friend pays nearly 400.- Dollar per month for the dock, she means it needs more than the permission from the owner and skipper from this boat and I must leave or she call the police! If I want visit my friend I must pay dingy fee! So I told her again, please call the police, because what you do is harass to me! She left and we was waiting for the police, but nobody came, but she send a guy over to me and let me know, that I have no right to stay on this place and she will call the next time immediately the police and bring me to jail! So this time I had enough and I told this man, if she or the owner not comes to apologize to my wife, and me I will report this to the State Attorney what I do now!

I don‘t know, how it is possible that a marina like Dockside have the right to make business and have a license to run this marina with these facilities. Like this kind of restrooms and showers for more than 50 Boats and the guest from the bar! In Austria the department of health will close this marina right away!

We learned from some cruising people, that last year the give out a warning, DO NOT DRINK the water in the Key area; you must cook it before you use it! BUT... nobody tells us this, and we still pay in this time 5 cent per gallon for the water from Dockside!!!

I don‘t know why the woman harass us like this, we never do anything bad in this bar, only few times we have a coffee or a beer, but maybe this is the reason, that we do not spend all our money to get drunk every day in the Dockside bar!

I think and I know, that many of the cruising and boat people agree with me, and we made a lot of friends in all areas what we cruising. But the most of them are afraid to say anything because they don‘t won’t troubles! But as a journalist, I like to write the true anytime and anywhere! I think, that we do everything in our community from boaters to help each other, like it should be in the whole world, without looking only to get some money out off some tourist’s pocket! So like some days before, we save the life from a woman in the night nearly drowning in Boot Key Harbor, we don‘t tell anybody, because we don‘t do it for money or to be hero, we do it for our community for cruising boaters to help if somebody is in need!!!

But to get harass from people like in Dockside, let a very bitter taste back in our minds for the time we stay in Marathon!

Please I am very sorry for my terrible english, but I hope you will understand!

Sincerely Erich Beyer

Email: segelclub-ankh@vienna.at (sailing-club)

s.w.n.a.@vienna.at (sailing world news austria)

Letter to the editor:

I am journalist and editor from the Austria sailing magazine - S.W.N.A. and we traveling around the world on our sailing boat "Key of life", and for some reason, (I have a broken rib, my crew get seasick and problems with my motor) I have to return from our trip over the atlantic and we must come back to Florida. I have already written the story from the harass in sombrero marina in some magazines, so this maybe the reason why we get boarded from the coast guard on friday the 7th june 2002, in the time we stay on anchor out off dinner key in Miami! Because I am sure, that some people don't like my story about the treatment from sailing boat tourists in Florida!! I have no other explanation for this boarding, because closed by also four boats from Canada and two boats from Germany anchored and more then 50 boats from USA the most of them called "squatters" A lawyer give me the advise, better not to complain against the coast guard, because they will set me on there "watch list" and I will get more troubles in the future! But... as a journalist from Austria, we are used to it, and we are free to speak out what we think, so I will write this story to you and hope your magazine is not afraid to bring this letter. Even if maybe now they will harass me more, I am not afraid to speak it out, what I think and how the coast guard made the searching from our sailing boat, this was not right!

This is the way they treated us, and my question: WHY ONLY US ??

1. From more then 60 boats they pick us and enter our boat, and our boat is in a proper Ships Register and so fare it is in jurisdiction of Austria and Austrian territory! I am not sure either, if this was right and correct to enter a boat in this way and without any reason!

2. We expecting some guest for dinner, but my wife must stop cooking, and we must both sit in the cockpit and we was not allowed to get below deck anymore. Then they ask for some weapons and I tell them the place where my shotgun is stored. So one man goes down, but alone, so we were not able to control what he does and bring up our shotgun.

3. Now, one man goes down in our boat, again alone and with a "drug dog" and search our boat, again we can't control what´s going on underneath. Later we found out, the dog made bad scratches and damages on the surface from our table!

4. The next was controlling our safety equipment's, this time I was with the man down below to show him everything! Everything was in order and all right, so we get a copy from a paper, that our equipment is on date and complete. My wife must sit still in the cockpit and was not allowed to get down in the kitchen to prepare the food for our guests, now nearly for an hour!!

5. Meanwhile, the crew on the coast guard boat found out, that my shotgun was "2.5 inches" to short!! (Because, of handling the shotgun below deck, what was very difficult with the long barrel, I cut off a piece! The piece from the barrel a had still on board and showed it to the coast guard.) I had never problems before, because never before had anyone interest on our shotgun when we clear customs and immigration, neither in Ft. Lauderdale, nor in Key West or Miami! Even in Cuba we had no problems with our shotgun, they took it during the time we stayed there and gave it back again the time we left Cuba!
So now I think, I become "Bin Ladden" in their eyes! A lot of telephone and VHF calls going on, and I was not allowed to speak out or complain or try to explain something. They told me, if I am not quiet, they bring me to jail! The whole action goes on now more then two hours, we still must sit hungry in our cockpit and must be quiet! Then they take me on land, where already two police car are waiting, and later passing some more, even a second patrol boat come also! So I was in the middle of a lot police, and coast guard and everybody what see this, must think I am a "drug dealer" or "terrorist" at least!!! Sure it was not a good recommendation for me and I feel very ashamed to stay between all the police like a criminal. Later they explain to me, my shotgun is to short and so against the law from USA and illegal. (but my shotgun was always on board our vessel, so on Austria territory, and I never bring it on shore!) So I give up my shotgun voluntary to the police, so I can go back on my boat and to my wife. She was very worry about me and what´s going on!

My question is now: Was this action right and legal? And WHY they boarded only our vessel and not "one" other vessel in this area??
Maybe this is the way in the USA that people not allowed to speak to officer from police and coast guard, and you must be quiet or they take you into custody if you try to speak out what you think, but in Austria we have the right and the freedom to speak, anytime and on any place, even to the police!!! And I am not afraid, to do this now, even if I get placed on the "watch list" from the coast guard, and I hope, that some magazines are not to afraid to bring this story! Sorry for my terrible english!

Master of SY. Key of life - Erich BEYER

On 25. October 2002 we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale and set two anchors on the end of the mooring field from the city marina by Las Olas bridge. First no mooring buoy was free and anyway I trust my anchors more and I don't like to pay 20.-$ a night on a mooring where the boats are so close that you can walk over from one boat to the other. On the place where we were anchoring, we have enough space to the boats and out of the ICW so no problem at all.

On 0930 the next morning 26. Nov. 2002 the man from the marina came and forces us to go on a mooring because two moorings were now available. He said, if we don't do it, he will let us tow away and we have to pay the towing. So we must pick up a mooring very close to Las Olas bridge and also very shallow for a draft from 6,3 feet and with our boat the "Key of life" with the size from 43 feet not much space between the other boats.

The weather was very nice with nearly no wind out of the east and clear sky, so we go into down to visit some friends and get our ticket from the travel agency because we want fly in the next days for three months to Austria. We come back around 1730 and from the bridge I see our boat "Key of life" between two police boats, long side in tow in the middle of the ICW and I got nearly a heart attack. The mooring buoy hanging down from our bow, because the mooring was broken and we was lucky that the current in this time go away from Las Olas bridge, so we didn't loose our mast! We was also very lucky that the police was passing by and got our boat before it was drifting and crash in a floating dock from the boat show on the other side from the ICW. Many thanks to the policeman and the second police boat what saved our boat and hold it. Meanwhile we came back and they told us to set the two anchors again on the same place where we were one night before. I will not think about it, what could happened if the police was not in this area in this time, and also very lucky for the other boats on the moorings our boat passed and our nearly 20 tons ferrocement boat didn't touch them.

The City marina not even give an excuse what's happened to us or an explanation why the mooring break without wind, but they charge 20.- $ a night and don't control the moorings in a period of time under water. We learned also, that few months ago an other mooring was broken, but the city marine don't care.

On the 31. January 2003 we was back from Austria and on the way to go further south. We set the anchor again by Las Olas bridge to wait for the right wind to go. Again in 30 minutes the man from the marina comes and say, we must go tomorrow at noon, because the City of Ft. Lauderdale have a new law, so any passing boat is only allowed to stay for 24 hours on the anchor by Las Olas in a year, or get towed away! Maybe Ft. Lauderdale has only interest to big mega yachts and not to cruising sailors like us or the many others they visit Florida. In the last three years what we come in period of time to the USA we spend more then 40.000 Dollars even we stay on the anchor and not in marinas. But in times like now, I think that we should not get treated in this way and all places become closed where boat can stay free on anchor, like it is in the rest of the world! Maybe this is the reason, that not only boat people get treated this way and always less tourist coming in this country. Because this things are a bad recommendation to USA and special for Florida where a lot of business living on tourist.

Many thanks again to the water police from Ft. Lauderdale, even this was not there job to tow and save our boat, and the different again is the Coast Guard from Miami, what I want tell in the following short story:

We stay on the anchor outside of Dinner Key Miami and on 22. February 2003 the wind become out of south with 5-6 Bft (around 25 mph) and the water was rough on the anchor field and an ca. 26 feet sailing boat, with a broken mast which hang beside the boat in the water brake loose and drifting to the anchor field between the other boats. So some boats reported it to the coast guard. Also I call the coast guard at 1400 hours again about this drifting boat what is a dangerous obstruction for other vessels. They coast guard only reply, that they have notified to the authorities (who are they?) and can do nothing against it. The boat stuck with the mast in the mud after ca. 200 yards and the mast piece on the surface smash to the hull from the boat by each wake with loud noises and the boat come close to some other sailing boat on a mooring. I call the coast guard again at 1830 and tell them, that if the wind changes the boat will drifting again, maybe in some other boat or drifting into the channel and some boats will run into it, because the boats running out and in to the manatee zone with full speed anyway, and the coast guard don't care even if they say so. (We watched the same scenery, powerboats with full speed through the manatee zone in Miami Beach also.) The coast guard say the will take care if they have time. Off course nobody came or check out what's going on. In the night the wind shifting west and to north quiet strong in thunderstorms. So the boat brake loose again and go now in the other direction and crash 300 yards southeast into an other sailing boat on a mooring, where is still hanging on the side. Lucky that some Catamaran lift his anchor before and go away on some other place before the boat crash into his boat.

I know, that is not the job from the coast guard to clear the area from all the wracks what hanging on some moorings or already sunk and submerged, but they have time to boarding dozens of dinghy’s, if they have life west and whistles on board, in this area, but they have no interest for a dangerous obstruction like this 26 feet vessel was is drifting through a anchor field with more then 50 boats on anchor or mooring between two main channels what is a peril for all other ship traffic anyway. I don't understand the attitude from the coast guard not even have a look to a drifting peril obstruction in two days. I always be surprised what I learned from the authorities in Florida and I think my book about sailing in the Florida Keys become a "never ending story!

Hi everybody!

After 14 days waiting, we get our seal ring for the Johnson water pump from our friend Georg in Ft. Lauderdale per Airplan to Staniel Cay and further by boat to Black Point! Because our friend Fred try it in Nassau, but no way to get it there. Meanwhile blow a plug with plastic thread out from our watermaker, after 180 hours of use, and we payed for the service in USA before we leave 230.- US Dollar and they fu... the thread by asemble this unit! We found the pieces from the plastic thread in the unit, and this pieces fu.. the O-rings so we must replace them! But this O-rings are not in the spare parts kit includet, not even in the instruction book is this part showing, so maybe we must send this unit again to the factory for repair, if i cant managed by myself and replace and find the o-rings! I was able to replace the plug with the thread was blow out, because I have a spare plug with a good thread on it, from a old unit. But on the way he was not working properly, always he suck some air on, so I dont know, why he want work again. I nearly go grazy, always something happend, nothing what we bought in the USA, or let it make a repair or service, was working longer then a few months, mostly only few weeks! So we are in George town, and have seen already three races from the "familie island regatta" and they tacking directly in front from our anchorplace! I hope we must not wait long for some spare parts again, and we can go further on, but never know! All the best from Erich and Gabriela

P.S.: Now I tested the watermaker in the bay again, and he was working three hours without problems! Why he dont work on the way, like he have done before, nobody knows?! Normaly nothing get repaired from himself! Maybe this is the Bermuda triangle?

Bahamas – Exumas 11. April 2003
Subject: Watermaker PUR 35

Dear Customer Service!

First, sorry for my terrible english, but I hope you will understand.

I am very disappointed with the service what you have done to my PUR 35 a while ago! The marine store “Sailorman” in Ft. Lauderdale send my PUR 35 to your factory for a complete service before we left with our sailingboat to travel around the caribic. I paid 214,65 US$ for this service and was hoping to have no troubles in the near future, but......
After 82 hours it was not working anymore, a lot of water coming out from the relief valve and so I clean the whole thing include the membrane but no success still not working properly. But I observe that the relief valve was in a different position, the pin what come out a bit, white and red on the end! So I open the relief valve and found some black plastic pieces in it, what I don’t understand from where it comes!
(Now I think I know, this pieces, was the pieces from the thread what I found now also!!)
After I cleaned the relief valve and put it together again, the watermaker was working again without problems until now!
Today we run the PUR 35 again and we hear a “Bang” and then splashing water a lot, so we stop immediately the watermaker and have a look at it.
That what I see was a big surprise, because the plug with the thread on it, on the manifold, in opposite side from the relief valve, blow out, and with it a lot of damaged pieces from the plastic thread! (You can see it on the included printing from this part)
How this can be possible after now only 188 hour of use the watermaker?
I am sure, that the pieces what I found by the time I checkt and cleaned the relief valve, was also pieces from this thread, because the look similar like the pieces what I found in the time I clean the relief valve.
Now I think this pieces also have damaged the O-rings on the piece from the foto, what you do not describe or named in you manual, WHY?
Because the O-ring don’t look very good anymore.
I have only one explanation for this failure. By your “service” and by the assemble my PUR 35 somebody work slovenly and damaged the thread by put the plug back in again. Because otherwise never the thread can come so in part like this one does, what you can see easily on the printed foto.
I want not imagine what happened if we are not on bord in this time, the plug blow out and the watermaker pump the water further on in the boat!!!
This is not the kind of a service from a company like PUR, what I will recommend to anyone, as a writer and editor, I will write this story in my book and in my sailing magazine.
We are on the way to the Dominican Republic so I cant wait for the parts in the Bahamas, but please send me the plug and maybe the O-rings so soon as possible to my Austria address. So they can send it after me, if I have a chance for a mailing address again.
And please don’t tell me, that I must send you the whole watermaker again, because I am tired from your kind of service and waiting for the parcel.
Send the plug (only in a bubble envelop, because my mailbox dont take parcel!!!) to:

Erich Beyer, Dir. Postfach 377 A-1140 WIEN - AUSTRIA

You can contact me in the next time over my email address: Segelclub-ANKH@Vienna.at

But I only have a chance to get my email so long I stay in George Town in the Exumas, so please contact me immedetialy so soon as possible if you have questions, or if you need my Visa or Master Card number in the case you don’t give me the parts under warranty!

I keep the pieces from the thread and have still in mind, to talk with my lawyer to make a lawsuit against your company, for this kind of service.

I hope to hear from you soon, Sincerely Direktor Erich Beyer

P.S.: I cant wait to hear your side from the story for a explanation!

Include: Printed Foto from the Part and the damaged threads.

Please excuse me, and I don’t blame you, because it is sure not your fault, but how the plastic thread is destroyed show me, that this service what you recommend was not very good in the first time!! I know, this was the old PUR company, but whom I can trust? I have already paid more then 200 Dollar for this kind of service, now you want that I must do it again, and maybe it will again only working for 188 HOURS???

FIRST, I HAVE NOT REMOVED THE SHUTTLE, AGAIN, IT blow out from alone include the destroyed plastic thread, and so what can somebody too more on this part??? If we was not on the boat in the time this part blow out, we will sink the boat before we come back, because a lot of water will come in, as you must know!!!

So the part come out easily and I must only change it for a new plastic plug because the thread is gone on the old one, and give new O Rings, and I’m sure, that I will too a better job then the guy what have assemble this unit in the first time, nobody can make more damage then this guy what was working on my unit!! Because if someone destroyed this plastic thread like the guy have it done already, he must be a very big idiot and should not work on a unit like a watermaker, what peoples life can hang on it!!! For this reason I will make a law suit to the former PUR company, if they let workers to a job and playing with other peoples life!!

So I need the O rings and the plastic plug, in the moment I put a old spare plastic thread plug in, what I have on storage from an old watermaker unit, and it works and make water, but the O rings are not good and this will not last long time, but it makes water now, only if we heal over to one side, he suck air on, was never happened before, so I think this come, because the O rings are not tight anymore!!

So what can be so difficult, to do this repair, if it is still working with the old parts what I use in the moment???

We stay on our sailing boat "Key of life" in the Bahamas and we need the watermaker, and have no time to wait for that he come back in some weeks, and will be not working again after 188 Hours and again I must spend some money for nothing!!!

Please send me the plastic plug and two sets from the O rings, that I can repair it on my own!

And please, give me an Address from the old PUR company, because the emails what I have send to PUR coming back the address is not good anymore, because I am now sure, that I will make again this company a law suit that they never forget me!

Again I don’t blame you for this was happened by the time the old PUR company make the service on my unit!!

BUT, if I don’t get this parts, I will write this story to every yacht magazine in the USA and believe me, PUR will not sale much watermakers again, also not the new Company! As an Independent journalist and editor, I was not afraid to write some true stories against the US Coast Guard, what you can read in some older issue from "south wind sailing" magazine, so I’m not afraid to write this story from the problems about this watermaker.!

I hope you understand my terrible english, please dont let me wait to long for these parts!

all the best from Dir. Erich Beyer

P.S.: If you are not able or you don’t have the power to help me with my problems, please send me also the address from your head office and the director from the management that I can contact them.

Hi everybody!

We are still in Nassau and fooling around do to some small jobs on the boat. Like I look for some O-rings for an Y-valve from PAR to the outlet. In George Town and here in Nassau I found 70 different size of O-rings but not one what fit in my Y-valve!!!

I found something out, about my GPS Magellan, he delete all the waypoints what have a number on the front, like "1 NA RO" or "3RO EX" and so he delete 7 waypoints, even also out from a route! But in the time we go down in the Exumas I used the waypoint and the route and it works good! In the time we come back the waypoints was disappeared !

The funny thing about it is: One waypoint, also with a number on the front "2 WLIFA" is still in the memory and not deleted. So I know already, that if I call Magellan, that no one will know what"s going on! I put the waypoints in again, and in the moment they work and are still there, but how long? Not funny if you need them, and they are gone! So they will tell me sure, that I must send the unit in again, than they will give me a new one, but how many times I must do this? Even I must always pay for the shipping.

Our ARIES windvane dont work properly, because we dont used it for some months, but I always grease and oil it, but still stiff and dont move good. Also I found out, that the hinges from the servo ruder have a lot of free play, and it is also written in the manual, that the hinges tend to wear out before anything else. It is happen also by our windvane, so I remove the hinges and bolt the ruder and lock it solid to the shaft. Now it is no free play anymore and should work properly. We will see on the way back to the USA. But no chance to hinged the ruder sideways up anymore. If I want remove it, I must do it from the dingi but if we must motoring, I will loose 0,5 knots speed if the ruder travel free behind in the water. For this coupling are no spares available anymore now.

Also I try to find some Aluminum pipes to make our spinnaker boom 5 feet longer but no chance to get the right pipe here in Nassau, so this must wait until we are in the USA again.

So if somebody ask me again, what you doing the whole time by cruising around, I think I will kill him immediately.

So this are the news from the Key of life, we will see whats going on to get back in the States. We hear on the net on SSB in the morning that a lot of funny things going on with the customs by clearing in to the country. Because they are again on "high alert" ! How you can be "high" and "alert"? We waiting for a weather window, and how it's look, I will spend my birthday on 25th may in Nassau again, and also Gabrielas here birthday on 29th May 03.

All the best from Erich and Gabriela

P.S.: Here in Nassau it is a bit of a problem to get in the internet, because I must drive with the bus to the Marathon Mull to get in the Internet free with my Batelco Account, because in the down the have no facilities for the customer!

Hi everybody!

I don’t believe it, but we are back in Nassau! On Thursday the 5. June 2003 we sail in direction Miami, but for my taste, a little bit much smoke from the exhaust, but after more then 14 days not running, the engine, not so bad. No wind, but a thunderstorm at noon, blow with 40 knots and a lot of rain, so we sail with stormfock and two reef in the main nearly 5 knots. Shortly no wind at all and only heavy rain let me start the motor again, but I get goosebubbles on my skin, I hear a sound like a “waterpunch” (Water in the cylinder) and after the rain was gone, the smoke show the trues, so we turn back! No wind at all, and the motor die 2 NM before entrance to Nassau harbor. I call a friend with a Motorboat “Opagammy” but no answer, even from no other boat in the harbor, and I called many times for assist or tow. Later BASRA call for me at Crocodiles on telephon line, if the Crew from “Opagammy” is maybe in, but no. So later BASRA send my the RBDF and the “P42” come out to tow me in. In this moment Albi come back to “Opagammy” and Tracy hear the calling “Key of life” so the call me and come out to tow me in soon. So I thanks “P42” and wait for “Opagammy” and at 1720 we are on tow from “Opagammy” back in the harbor, where we set the anchor in the front of Crocodiles nearly on the same spot like before! We not even can cook them a nice austrian Pork roast because, it is a holiday so also an monday. “Opagammy” is gone today to the Berrys , so we not even can spend them a beer in Crocodiles. I found out, that the cylinderhead gasket was gone again, after 750 hours. We paid to Claus from Volvo Penta in Ft. Lauderdale 1500.- Dollar for the service to our cylinder and head, but I think he have done not much on it. The rust was very bad inside the cylinder, was should not be after 750 hours. So I hope we can fixed it with my spare gasket and some “JB weld” to get it tight again and make it back to the states, where we find a motor soon, I don’t want spend much more money on this one. So I hope I can send you some pictures from the tow in to Nassau, if the email works. Dave the Boss from Crocodiles was so nice to let me in, in his telephon line to get to my email account. So all the best to all, from “Key of life” Erich and Gabriela

Nassau 24. June 2003

Hi Everybody!

Now I'am not sure if you got the last emails, because I get only from two friends a reply, what isn't usual.

To make a long story short, after the repair from my engine, we waiting for a weather window and celebrate each day with some other cruising sailors a farewell party, so we nearly become alcoholics!! We found out, that the only three good days with SE winds for us, was this days I stuck in the engine room and repair the cylinderheadgasket and crindet my valves! So.. is this Murphys Law or the Bermuda triangle??

But some things was working well again, we become a "New Crewmember" we bought us a Computer from german friends on Lalubi a DEL inspiron 4000, after a long haggle about it, but shame on me, it is a PC not a nice Apple, but the only reason for this was, Seacharts and navigations programms, includet weatherfax run on this computer, but not on our Apple Mcintosh!

After long time running around, we find some plugs by radio shack what I soldering and fix it, so I can run my GPS on navigations Programm Capn Voyager.Also a other programm "Max sea" what we get from other friends, with all maps from the world, we can run now also. Even I nearly got crazy to bring this PC in mind, (electronical idiot) to found my GPS on the port COM1 if I still had my shotgun, the PC will be death by now!

But, because the PC programmer stolen everything from Apple, so I was able, without any technical informations from the "specialists" to go deep in the PC system, because everything nearly works the same on windows but more complicated! Also I get the PC connected, without modem, only run over the sound card to my SSB radio to get with the JVCOMM 32 Programm to load down the weatherfax now! Yipiee now I can save and store, even printing out, in what shity weather we are the whole time in!!!

Sure if we use everything now, what we got on technical equipement, and we want drink a cold bear also, the battery breaks down in few hours! So we must run the engine to load the battery, but this I wan't do because we save the engine to get to miami, so in the moment we run the generator! But it is fine, to have everything, just in case we need it!

In the other way, we make over email a contract with "Vessel Assist" for 135.-$ a year, so they must tow us 50 NM free where ever we want! Even we stuck on ground in the ICW again, so this will be a small insurance, just in case our motor will not make it to Dinner Key!

By the way, we got a book from "Bill Bryson" the title is: "Notes from a big country" and this guy have written everything down already what I was talking about America in the last three years, so I found out! I am not alone with my thought!

All the best from Erich and Gabriela, and I hope that the next email come from Miami.

P.S.: Now I am able also to burn some CD's on the computer, so I can make some Cd's with special Erich's music for some special friends, and I like this very much!

First please I am sorry for my terrible English, but I am an Austrian independent journalist and hope you will understand how I feel about American “Service and warranty”!

It began in august, the time I bought an old Mercedes motor (build 1978) for our sailing boat and make a service on it. First the Jabsco seawater pump for cooling was badly leaking so I take it in parts and start to look for spare parts. After I was in five marine shops in Palm beach, Riviera beach area and looked through many catalogs, without finding the same type of Jabsco seawater pump, I get an 800 phone number from Jabsco and get Jay on the line, after a long talk with Jay I learned, that my Jabsco pump are a type made by Jabsco in Europe, but unfortunaly, it seems that Jabsco Europe and Jabsco USA don’t talk to each other, so Jabsco pump USA can’t help me at all, but I get the next 800 number from a company, what is specialist on European pumps. This company, called Depco pumps in Clearwater Florida has the knowledge and will solve my problems, but now, I know it better. By Depco pumps I get Jim on the line and we talk a while and it seems that he have an idea from what he talking about, I believe it only a short time. Jim told me that it would be not a problem and he know this pump and he will send me the parts for the pump, so I can repair it. Jim send me the parts to one from the marine shops, because we stay on a sailing boat and have no mailing address and this is the first problem to deal with some companies between because it will be always more expensive, without getting a better service anyway, but this is the boating life.

On august the 12th the spare parts arrived and I check it immediately and what I see, I don’t believe it. Jim send me a kind of mechanical sealing and two seal rings and two ball bearings, but the outside diameter was right, but inside diameter where the parts fit on my shaft from the seawater pump, the seal rings fit well, but the inside diameter from the ball bearing was 1/16 of an inch to big! I called immediately Jim from Depco pump, why he sends me these parts. The excuse was, he take other bearings for me from an other pump, because the bearing for my pump are not on stock! I don’t get an answer however it can fit on my shaft. If anyone has a little bit of an idea what he does at work, he will never think that two different diameters will fit on the same shaft, so what kind of people work at Depco pumps? Now Jim promised me, that if I send him the whole pump, he will repair it, and it will be around 150$. Now we send the pump in to Depco, of course I must pay 10 $ for the mail, even the parts was wrong, and 7 $ to send my pump in, and also I must deposit 50$ in this marine shop, that they hold the parcel for me. Now waiting again for my seawater pump and hoping it become repaired.

On august 15th I get the message from Jim by Depco pumps, the have no spare parts for my Jabsco pump, because, this is a European pump. All the phone calls we made in the past, was about dealing with my pump, because it is a European pump! What’s going on, this should be the company what it is specialist for European pumps? Now they found out, they have no spare parts for European pumps and must order it from UK and this will be cost to much, around 200$ and this is not worth for the old pump. Ok after a long phone call with Jim, he found a other pump for me, what should nearly fit on my motor, but not the same mounting and also the shaft is a different diameter, what means, I need also a new pulley. For all this troubles, so Jim told me, he will make me a good price for a Germany Oberdorfer seawater pump. The price of the pump will be below 200 $ so I order the pump, the pulley and a spare impeller, because of course, the impeller from my old Jabsco pump will not fit in this one. Now waiting again for my pump.

On august the 18th arrived my Oberdorfer seawater pump in the marine shop in Riviera Beach, and now all together I paid 382 $ for my pump. The mounting was total in a different position, so I must get a new mounting from a machine shop, what cost me also nearly 100 $, but I get it in one day. But what I don’t know to this time, the pump story will go further on with the “specialist” from Depco and “qualitative” German Oberdorfer pump.

After a while in a Marina, we build in the “new” Mercedes in our boat and on September the 16th the motor run the first time, and the Oberdorf pump works good and have the power I get promised on it, and I was quiet happy with it.

After 15 hours testing the motor we saw some saltwater tracks below the new Oberdorfer seawater pump, and after a few hours more, we know for sure, the Oberdorfer pump was leaking like hell. Now I sailing more then 30 years and made more then 100.000 Nautical miles, but I don’t feel very comfortable in the middle from hurricane season without motor. If money is not a question, maybe you go in the marina again, spend 40 $ per day, call a mechanic man and let him take out the seawater pump and pay again 50$ or more for the job. But as a journalist, I am not able to spend much money, special if you are already four years away sailing around. So after I called Jim, again, I must spend money for mailing again to send my pump to Depco and hope they repair it on warranty. Because, they will not send me a new pump that I can stay save on the anchor with a leaking pump, but with a motor. Depco also don’t care for this and so I must send the pump in for repair. That’s the big different between Austria and USA, in Austria a marine shop will take care for your warranty, and they will send in the pump for you, without paying anything, because they know, they make the money with you, but here in the USA, the marine shop sale you the parts, and then they don’t care for you, is this not nice? But they will treat the boaters this way also in the future, because nobody, or only few like me will complain. And everybody looked at you, like you are an alien, because you complain about something. But anyway, we are further North ride now, so without car it is a hassle with this kind of bus service to go to some places, what Florida have, in former Yugoslavia was the bus service better. But we found a mailbox service close by what will be taking care for our parcel. So we stay on anchor without motor in the hurricane season, and I tell you the truth, I don’t like it, and I don’t sleep well in this time. Depco pump repair my pump and on October the 15th I fix the pump again in on my motor, and test it, everything tight, no leaks, I nearly can’t believe it, and I was right to be in doubt.

We still in the testing phase from our motor and going up and down the ICW and after 8 (eight) hours, the German “quality” Oberdorfer pump, repaired from the “specialist” by Depco in Clearwater, was leaking again. I nearly go grazy, and call again Depco pump, but now Jim was on the boat show, so I must deal with some other guys and what I learned now, it was really surprising for me. After a many phone calls a spoke to three different people, I hear a story about this Oberdorfer pump. They have before a lot of problems, because the mechanical seal was leaking on this pump and they have repair some pumps before, because some complains from customers. So in the end I get Jeffrey the man who makes the warranty repair on the pump, and he promised that he will give now a lip seal in my pump, so I will have not a problem with this mechanical seal anymore. But of course I must send in the pump before, and stay again without motor in the hurricane season, or going in a marina and pay for a mechanic guy again. So I pay again the mailing and send the pump to Depco in Clearwater.

On November the 3rd I get the pump back, now with a lip seal instead a mechanical seal, and I get also a lip seal in spare and I can only hope, that it will least that time a little bit longer. In the moment the pump was running 10 hours, and still tight, but…. How long it be will this time??

The facts are now:

1. Jim sold me a pump, and I think he already must know that with this pump they have problem before.

2. Depco repaired the pump again with a mechanical seal and they already know, it will have problems again.

3. After sending many emails to Depco and Oberdorfer, I still get no contact address from a head office, that a lawyer can make contact with them.

4. If I was not able to take the pump on my own in and out, and must hire a mechanic and maybe stay in a marina also, I had to pay few hundred dollars for it, because of this service from Depco and dealing with dilettantes. But we have other name for people they are so dumb and working on the wrong place. But normal in Austria we have workers in the companies, they know what they do, they know the products they sale and first of all, the learn in a school for the job they make and I found out, this is not happened the most of the time in the USA.

5. For all this delay I was not able to go in the Bahamas and pick up some Club members they want cruising with us, so I loose more then 3000 Dollar for dealing with Jabsco, Oberdorfer and Depco pumps, but who cares for this anyway, the only chance is “maybe”, to make a law suit, because for me it looked, what this company have done is a fraud. And sure I don’t need this kind of service and warranty.

I think, if a company is not able to take care of there customers, and not able to give the warranty they promising, and are not able to repair the units they sale. These companies should not have a license or to be a distributor for parts, special on marine parts for boats, on their function people’s life hang on it. Because nearly the same experience I made with Magellan GPS, Citizen watch company, UPS, Feed Ex, DellComputerCorporation, AOL, PUR Watermaker, and Sea Tow, they become a nightmare to. But all this stories I will publish in my book, but I am very sorry, in the moment it will be only available in German language.

Sincerely Erich Beyer

Independent Journalist – Editor from S.W.N.A. (Sailing World News Austria)

S.Y. Key of life/Austria Email: SWNA@VIENNA.AT

Florida / Cocoa / May 2004

First please I am sorry for my terrible English, but I am an Austrian independent journalist and hope you will understand how I feel about “this” American way!

With our sailing vessel “Key of life” we are on the way heading north, direction Chesapeake Bay to pick up some club member they come from Austria and want make some cruising with us around Washington D.C. By a check from our fittings, we found a small crack (1/4 of an inch) on the gooseneck fitting from the boom. Because I am a responsible Skipper, I had no other choice, than to repair this part instantly. It is absolutely necessary for save sailing. The gooseneck fitting needs some welding on it. To do this repair job, we set anchor in Cocoa, and on Thursday May 20th, we walk over to the oldest hardware shop in this area, to “S.F.Travis Company”. I talk with the owner Travis “Mac” Osborne about our problem, and he told me, it will not be a problem to do this small welding job, and it will be ready on the next day. So I ask him, if it will be not so expensive, because sometimes people believe, all people on a yacht are rich, but as an author and journalist, I am not! He promised me, it would be not expensive. So I ask also for a good price for a chain, because I need 200 feet new chain, but the price for a 5/16 chain with 3,50$ per foot was not cheap at all, the same price I get also by West Marine, so I forget this deal with him. After this chat, my wife ask the owner again a second time, if the repair will be reasonable for us, and again, Mac promised also my wife, it will be fair!

On the next day, Friday 21, we come again to pick up our part, and the repair was ready, so we make some shopping in this store, things we need for our boat anyway. The price for our things was around $ 45.-, and by the cashier I want to pay for it and the repair, than I see the price for the small welding job! It was $ 65.-, and sure, this will be not equitable for a welding job from a 1/4 of an inch! I know how to weld, so I know also that for this job, a welder will need not more then 10 minutes for it, include the cleaning after the welding. So I said to the owner: “Mac you promised me a good and an acceptable price for this job, but 65 $ is not reasonable at all”! So he said to me: “You think this is not a fair price?” I said: “Not at all, this is expensive, not like you promised to me and my wife before”!

After this short conversation, he jump out off his chair, (like a guy with around 320 pound can jump) running to me, grab the goose neck fitting what I hold in my hand, tear it off my hand and shout at me, he will break it like it was before, so I don’t must pay for it, and fade away back in his store. I was thinking, the guy is crazy or makes a joke with us, we waiting by the cashier and nobody knows what’s going on. After a few minutes the owner comes back and have complete damaged the gooseneck fitting, what is my own property. Not only that he bend it with a lot of force in a vice, that one of the fitting side, get two cracks on the end from the lashing and make the part now not only weaker as it was before with the small crack, now the part is complete destroyed. Not only this was enough for him, he cut it with a hacksaw, the good side from the lashing, what had no damage on it before! To me it looked like vandalism. I don’t believe what I see, my wife nearly get tears in her eyes, because she knows, now it will be a problem to repair it, the part is destroyed. I tell the women on the cash counter, please call the police. She doesn’t call the police, so I ask Mac to call the police. He means I can go outside and call myself. So we wait more than 20 minutes, and I tell Mac that I will not leave the store, I want the police! So after a while, Mac calls the police, and after waiting again for 20 minutes, an officer comes and we meet him by the entrance. After I tell him the whole story, and after the officer talks to the owner, he tells us, that he can do nothing about this matter. Even the part is my property, what he destroyed, this is a civil matter. So we must find out, that in the USA anyone can destroy others property and then you can only go to a lawyer and make a civil law suit. For me it seems not right, at all, how fare it can go? I can’t explain what feeling I have for this kind of justice, but this is the first time in my now 54 years, that I feel totally powerless and helpless. There is no democracy in a country, if you cannot complain, without getting your property destroyed.

I know, it will be not easy to make a lawsuit against Travis Osborne, special as a foreigner. I hope to make it happen, that I bring this story to some newspaper and TV station, and find a lawyer who can help us in this case, without it cost me an arm and a leg to get justice for this what Travis Osborne has done to us! I hope it will be not necessary to contact the Austrian embassy and we can solve the problem on our own and believe in the system of justice from the USA.

Our plan to get north in the Chesapeake Bay, are gone now, even we have a good weather window now, because of this claim. Because of this action from Travis Osborne, what seems for me criminal, to charge for a welding job from a 1/4 of an inch 65 $, this looks like a fraud anyway. We are forced, against our will, to detain in Cocoa, because the part will not be repaired soon, if this will be possible anyway. Without this part, we can’t go further on, because we need our boom to sail! If we go now on court, a surveyor sure will see this part, so no way to let it repair meanwhile. I have no idea to get a new gooseneck fitting, the part comes from Europe, but I don’t know from where I can order it? I don’t know how long it will be, that we find a lawyer and get the law suit, but it will be long enough, to loose our guest for there holidays in the Chesapeake Bay and a lot of money. Also it will be not nice, to come more in the hurricane season and sailing through Carolina. If we be forced to stay further in Cocoa in the time the lawsuit get on court, who will pay the fees for a marina, because we can’t stay on anchor so long, without power and water? Even we must rent a car, because to bring everything in order with this case, it will not be possible only by walking around, who will pay for this? And all this things, knows Travis Osborne, so this give him the right to go crazy and destroy other peoples property, because he knows or believe, we have not enough power to do something against him. But I hope to get some justice and I can believe in the law and order of this country.

We bought our boat in Ft. Lauderdale, and in the last four years we sail out and in, eight times from Florida and we spend more then 50.000 $ in this country, and we made many friends. If we must take it now, that somebody can destroy our property and we can do nothing against it, than I will not understand this world anymore. I hope, that in my book about the Florida Keys, this chapter will end happily for us; even we have a lot of harm and impairment already.

Erich Beyer (Editor “Sailing world news Austria”)

Bahamas / Exumas / George Town 20. December 2004

Miami 20th July 2004

Dear John!

After the telephon call today, I look forward to get my money back for the painter line, but anyway I must tell you this.

By the first time Inflatable Services make my service on my Avon Liferaft, I request my things from the liferaft, that I can see them! After all they forget to hold my things and I was not able to see what was wrong with them.

Now the second time, my friend give you the order to hold my things, and again you told him, you have already everything disposed! Why? I paid for the things, and I like to keep my old flairs, because it is always better to have more then you need on board. Special, I sailing now for 30 years and shoot my old flairs at new year, andd even the was already 10 years off date, I have never a blank!

It is also very ridiculous, that your company charge me 40 Dollar for a label kit, what was nearly new, it had not even a bit of fading out on it, because it was never in the sun, so why you put a new label kit on it, if it isn't necessary? Like the second time you put a new flashlight in, because the old one was bend? How it can be bend, if it was properly packed?

Please tell your boss, that he give me a proper explanation for all this things, like the painter line, and why your company change it, or he will read this story in the next month in some sailing magazines araound Florida. I told you about my painter line, we check it before and the painter line was smoth and dry and sure have no damage on it, for this I have three witness what see the raft and the line in the time I let it bring to you. So please tell me why the worker change this painter line, and why your company forget AGAIN to keep my old things?

I am an independent Austrian journalist, and I think that the painter line, flashlight and the label kit cost 120$ and was not necessary so I don't like to pay for it, and I think not many sailor to.

Please let me know what the whole explanation is, but send me a email because we are on the way to the Bahamas soon.

Email: SWNA@Vienna.At

Hope to hear from you, and looking forward that the money will be refund on my Visa account next time I can check it.

Sincerely

Erich Beyer (Editor)

First, please excuse my terrible English, I am an independent Journalist and writer from Austria and we enjoy cruising with our sailing vessel “Key of life” through the beautiful islands from the Bahamas. I work on my book and on a cruising guide for the Bahamas in German language. We will be in February in Nassau again, and I would like to get an appointment with you, because I have a lot of question about the policy for tourists and cruisers in the Bahamas. Like the cruising permit for our sailing boat, we paid 300 Dollar for a year, what I think, become expensive, since our last visit in your islands, but still it is a fair price for this paradise and the permission to sailing in it, and a fishing licence included. But I, and many other cruising sailors don’t understand, why we get a permit for the boat for a year, but we cannot longer stay then eight months in your country and we get forced to fly out to get a new visa? Or we leave the country with our boat, but this make no sense, if I have already paid for a “one year permit” for my boat!

Now the next big surprise was the “policy” from the Scotia Bank in George Town. We was not able to change our EURO Dollars, and the, so called Bank Manager Debra Moxey-Rolle give me the advise to fly back to Nassau to get changed my EURO Dollars!!! This is more then ridiculous, special if the change “Canadian dollar” and “English Pound” but not EURO! I think, that it will be also in the interest for the Bahamas to get more tourists from Europe, or you have enough with the American tourists, they already believe and behave, this is there own country? I was long time in the bank business and as you will know also, that someone likes to deal with the weak American Dollar, (even if it is one third from the dollar currency circulation in the whole world counterfeit anyway) and don’t take the strong and save EURO. If a bank has a monopoly in George Town, like the Scotia bank, so they must be able to change EURO Dollar, because if they denied is this a insult for all European tourists.

If it is possible to get an appointment and I can chat with you in the time I stay in Nassau, please let me know and reply on my email. All the best and happy holidays,

Sincerely Dir. Editor Erich Beyer

HI all

Well as Stace told you we were on the run from Grenada to Venezuela with hurricane Emily clipping our heels. The decision to leave Grenada was wise although we had to leave our outboard motor there that was being repaired as it was only going to be ready the next day. Normally boaters would have stayed in the area but Grenada was hit so hard last year, so everyone took this storm very seriously. Apparently the track and position was similar to Ivan...though Emily was not as strong yet. We motor sailed all the way; even when we had enough wind to sail we kept pushing the boat as fast as possible to get as far away from Emily as we could. Conditions were beautiful, the calm before the storm. Averaging 6.8 knots, sometimes as much as 7.5 knots we raced south west (more west) checking in for the weather and downloading weather faxes the whole way. Off Los Testigos we caught a small tuna and friends (Eric and Gabby on Key of Life) on another boat caught a nice sailfish on a lure I had made for them a few weeks back. The story later at the anchorage of them landing it was hilarious. They are not big fishermen, first they tried to land the fish with a small net that looked as though it was for goldfish, then realizing this was hopeless, Gabby - a stocky Austrian lady with huge boobs - in a desperate attempt, leaned over the side of the boat, through the lifelines and grabbed the fish in a big bear hug. Keep in mind this fish is 4-5 ft long with a big spike for a nose. She wrestled it to the deck then poured half a bottle of alcohol in the gills to subdue its attempts to get away. All of this took place while they were both naked (these two are always naked) and under full sail. Eric was so excited when he called me on the VHF Radio he could hardly contain himself, he has covered thousands of nautical miles over the last 30 years of sailing, always with a line trailing behind his boat and he had never in his life caught a fish this large. An hour later on our run to Margarita Island I was in the lazarette (back of boat, under cockpit) checking the fuel tank level (because there's no gauge) and noticed it was very hot down there I glanced back to the temperature gauge and it was pegged over in the red. I jumped out and shut down the engine. My heart sank as I opened up the engine compartment and looked at the overheated engine. It couldn't have been more than 5 minutes as I had only just glanced at the temp gauge and all was normal. With the storm coming, and by this time, .02 knots of wind, you can imagine what we were thinking. Los Testigos was the only place to go and the anchorage was wide open. Assessing the situation I noticed the pully for the waterpump and alternator had broken. Working like a madman I knew I had to get the engine running asap to get the coolant running again. Once the new belt was in place and the water topped up we started up and the temp returned to normal. Whew were we lucky. Ironically I just installed a temperature sensor a few weeks back to warn us if this ever happened. Fat lot of good that did. We arrived at the entrance to our hurricane hole at about 2 am with lightening storm off in the distance and no moon. It was an eerie feeling of the calm before the storm. We used our radar to pick our way through the gulf of Cariaco which is full of anchored ships and small boats. Arrived at the entrance to the protected lagoon, called Laguna Grande at about 2 am. We had to go in as the storm was expected to arrive in a few hours. Using the radar and a pair of binoculars we turned in towards the land only able to see the small entrance on the radar...the lightening flashed we got a split second visual on where we were. We inched our way in and started to see the anchor lights of the other boats that had already arrived in this well protected laguna. Local fishing boats with their bright fishing lights and mosquito nets draped over wooden frames looked like fairies dancing on the waters in front of us... After 36 hours we finally threw down the hook in 30 ft of water. Whew we made it. Many boats came in after dark and lots sat outside in 100 ft of water until they mustered the courage to come into this lagoon at night. Now we are safely anchored in Laguna Grande on the mainland of Venezuela which is tucked in on the Araya Peninsula ... resting up after not sleeping for 42 hours. Whew what a run! Well off to the beach with the dogs, Phill Stace Ima & Jock

Crime reports from Venezuela

This incident occurred in late November, 2005.

Knowing that Venezuela is a "rough" place with little law and order I keep a gun aboard, and it was very handy!!!

We were anchored at Isla Piritu about 5 miles from the mainland. Big Mistake. Too close to land!! At about 9 PM I heard a small outboard, turned out the lights and with our binoculars watched three guys approaching in a small boat. I already had my gun with me. When they got close I told them to move away. Instead they raced to our catamaran's stern and one guy jumped aboard. I shot over his head. Just like in a cowboy movie! He jumped back into the boat and I covered all of them with my gun. They could see the muzzle of my gun, but not me, and I had them right in front of me.

Pleading they were poor fishermen wanting to give us fish they pulled away slowly. About 100 meters from us they sat and had a discussion. We got more ammunition and moved things around so that we had good cover. All of a sudden they came towards us very fast and as they turned for land started shooting. I just watched as they headed away, more scared of us than we were of them. I never fired back. For sure, we got the anchor up quickly and were drinking rum in Puerto La Cruz 3 hours later. We were lucky ... very lucky.

Sadly Laguna Grande has had two boardings in the past 6 months. Not safe anymore. We don't want to feel that we went cruising in Baghdad!

Because of the gun these cruisers do not want to present this report themselves and have requested that they not be identified.

This item was reported in the September 2005 issue of "Compass" as well as in the Venezuelan newspapers. The report that follows is from Canadians Kris and Sandra aboard s/v "Nomotos".

August 4, 2005 in the bay next to us in Laguna Grande Golfo De Cariaco Venezuela at 11:15 PM pitch black with no moon Dwayne and Marilyn aboard the American catamaran "Tortilla Flat" (the only boat there at the time) were awakened by the sound of their dinghy being stolen. The dinghy a ten foot "Caribe" with a 15 HP "Yamaha" had been raised on aft davits tied but not chained or cabled.

At least four pirates had arrived in a penero. Two of them had swum over to the catamaran, climbed aboard the steps and cut the dinghy's lifting tackle and lines with a machete. They had to know that releasing the dinghy in this fashion would make a lot of noise. It is scary that they were not concerned. Dwayne had removed the plastic key from the outboard but the pirates were ready with their own key. This was obviously not their first theft.

Dwayne came out and started fighting with the two pirates on his boat's aft deck. "Tortilla Flat" at the time had no working flashlight or working lights on it's aft deck. Dwayne was hit repeatedly with a machete but in the pitch black thought that they were hitting him with a club.

When the pirates jumped into the water Dwayne followed to try and save his dinghy. Unbeknownst to him a third pirate was swimming the dinghy away. A fourth pirate jumped into the dinghy from the penero and attacked Dwayne with a machete. The pirates got the dinghy started and took off leaving Dwayne for dead. Dwayne swam back to his boat.

Marilyn spent quite some time stemming Dwayne's blood flow by applying compresses. She then weighed anchor and motored to our bay using radar and depthsounder. She was attracted by our bright anchor light and was successful in waking us. I was nervous going out of our locked cabin but the voice was female, she spoke English and I could hear an inboard instead of a penero. We cycled our alarm system and radioed the other boats in our bay for help. As quickly as we could we launched our dinghy and I went over the first one aboard.

I had never been exposed to anything like this. It was horrible with large pools of blood everywhere on the aft deck and the port steps. Dwayne was sprawled nude on his back on the aft deck. The average adult holds about five to six liters of blood. Dwayne's blood loss would likely have been greatest just after he was injured when he was working hard fighting his attackers and swimming back to his boat. Guessing at what he lost in the water and what I saw on deck he must have lost two to three liters of blood.

In my haste to render assistance I had only donned shorts - no shirt or footwear. It was impossible to move about the aft deck without stepping into the blood. It was very slippery. Later before getting back into our dinghy I rinsed my feet in the sea off the catamaran's aft steps. The next morning the rainwater in our dinghy was tinged pink.

Dwayne had nine very deep cuts to his head, chest, arms, shoulders and back. He had great difficulty rolling over so that I could check the wounds on his back. The wounds were some two to four inches long through both layers of skin and fat and into muscle. I looked at all of the wounds and ascertained that none of them was bleeding.

Dwayne was lucid, shaking, throwing up occasionally from shock, reasonably calm and coping well with the pain. He was as comfortable as he could be. I checked three other boats by dinghy and / or radio to find out if any of them had any medical training or medical supplies. Medical supplies were not going to help much as Dwayne was not bleeding and his cuts were so severe that only a doctor with suturing could help.

I immediately determined that the victim's injuries although quite horrific were not life threatening and given that the bleeding had stopped the crisis was under control. However shock could quickly change that evaluation. My whole focus at that point was getting more help than I could offer and that meant a doctor, nurse or paramedic.

I had no idea how far help would be but assumed that it would not be close. The first choice was to have help come to us in the form of a fast boat. The other boats and Sandra called "Maydays" in English and Spanish on HF as well as VHF but there was no response of any kind. In times of crisis in third world countries we have found that the cruisers generally have to do it themselves.

Greg of "New Passages" was the only other person to dinghy over to help. He knew the area and knew that help could be secured in Cumana some 12 miles two hours away. He volunteered to drive the victims' boat there. I offered to go along but he felt safer my staying behind in case there were problems with his wife and his boat. Along the way they repeatedly fed Dwayne liquids and pain pills which he repeatedly threw up. They elevated his legs, forced him to stay awake and kept him as comfortable as possible.

When the catamaran arrived at "Marina Cumanagoto" the night security there pulled out all of the stops calling anyone who spoke English and could help get Dwayne medical help. Dwayne was quickly transferred by ambulance to a private hospital and got first class care. The doctor dared not sedate Dwayne because shock had badly set in. He was given a local anesthetic before his wounds were stitched up. A surgeon and an assistant spent three hours to close up all of Dwayne's wounds.

The next day Greg needed a ride back as the catamaran no longer had dinghies. Given the seriousness of what had happened we would have expected the Authorities to rush over and investigate. They could have brought Greg home in some official boat, ship or whatever.

It took four days for the Authorities to visit Laguna Grande and investigate. As was the case with all of the other pirate attacks in Venezuela no one was charged and the Authorities did not recover any of the stolen property.

The marina quickly came to the rescue. They offered free of charge their big double outboard penero to take Greg home. The trip took only 15 minutes. A fast boat when the alarm was raised is the sort of thing which should have been available from the Authorities in the first place. The time that was lost for the catamaran to motor two hours to Cumana could have had Dwayne's non life threatening injuries kill him.

Dwayne was interviewed by the local media and the Authorities the next day in the hospital. He recovered extremely well and was out of the hospital within four days.

This report was in the "Vancouver Sun" on December 13, 2005 and posted on "Yahoo News" on December 15, 2005. It was also published in "Compass".

The headline was "Armed Caribbean pirates loot B.C. Surgeon's yacht"

For Steve McVicar, the worst part of lying in the cockpit of his sailboat with a sawed-off shotgun pressed to his head by a Venezuelan pirate was how casually his life could end.

"It's just a horrible feeling that your life is so frail, hanging by a thread, when somebody has a gun on you," the 50-year-old Trail orthopedic surgeon said Monday in a telephone interview. "You could be gone instantly."

McVicar and his companions, another B.C. doctor and his wife, had just set off on a two-week Caribbean cruise off the coast of Venezuela early last month when pirates turned their holiday into 30 minutes of helplessness and terror.

The attack came the first evening out of Puerto la Cruz on the coast of Venezuela. McVicar had just spent two weeks working on the boat, and when his friends arrived, they headed 11 kilometers offshore to Isla Borracho and anchored for the night.

There was no reason to expect trouble. McVicar has kept Alioth, his 13-meter French-built steel-hulled ketch, in the Caribbean since 1999, and knows the waters well, having headed down for two-week trips three or four times a year. Both the Venezuelan coast guard and the national guard patrol the waters around Puerto la Cruz, and the bay they anchored in was reputed to be safe.

Early in the evening, the three were lounging in the cockpit, watching a DVD. McVicar, drowsy from a cold remedy, was not keeping a watch, and the sound of the movie muffled the noise of the outboard as a six-meter open fishing boat approached.

"All of a sudden, five armed men came on board and one of them put a shotgun right to my head," he recalled. "The others had pistols and a machete, and they ended up tying us up and proceeded to loot the boat."

The Canadians lay on the deck, bound hand and foot, with one pirate holding the shotgun on them while his companions ransacked the main cabin.

Nearby in the darkened aft cabin, McVicar's own shotgun and a handful of shells -- a potential defence now turned appalling danger -- lay in plain sight on his bunk. Mercifully the pirates never looked there. "I shudder to think if they'd seen it," he said.

He remembered all too well the fate of world-class yachtsman Sir Peter Blake, who grabbed his gun to challenge pirates who boarded his boat in the Amazon River in 2001 and was shot dead on the spot.

"You think, if only I had my gun on deck, I could have loaded it, which I usually do, but what if I had fired? What if they had a machine gun and fired back? You'd wind up having a firefight.

"That's what was going through my brain, so I offered no resistance, so it's just as well I didn't have my gun up there."

While he lay helpless, he could see into the main cabin, where the pirates were pawing through his gear and taking what they fancied - satellite phone, VHF radio, expensive sailing clothing, electronic instruments and more.

"The sad part was, I had an empty knapsack, and I had about $10,000 in a zipped pocket," he said.

"I usually hide that on the boat somewhere, but I never got around to it and they used the knapsack to put stuff in, not knowing the cash was there, so it was really disheartening to see them take the knapsack."

There was worse to come. The pirates then took the woman down into the boat and molested her, taking her clothes off.

McVicar and the woman's husband were afraid she might be taken ashore and raped, but she was left on the boat.

After 30 minutes, the pirates left, and after 10 minutes of twisting and squirming, the captives freed themselves. They contacted a French yacht lying at anchor about 300 meters away, which came to see if they were alright.

Assured they were, it left the bay immediately, as did McVicar, who took the Alioth straight back to Puerto la Cruz."

This incident will be published in "Compass" and "The Boca" and posted on "Caribcruisers" and "Noonsite" websites.

On December 4, 2005 at about 10:45 PM with some 85 boats in the anchorage we were robbed in Porlamar for the second time. Our circumnavigation was started in September of 1996 and is almost complete. In all that time we have only been robbed twice.

This time by three to four pirates in their 20's. The pirates were in our cockpit pounding on our companionway doors, screaming "Garda Costa" and shinning a large spotlight in my eyes. Awakened out of a sound sleep and not thinking too clearly I at first thought that it was a legitimate boarding by the authorities.

Two pirates with rusty automatic handguns forced their way below decks. Describing the guns to people who know guns they guessed them to have been either 22 or 32 caliber - not that it means much looking down their barrels.

The first one below deck was drunk and barely in control of himself. He pointed his gun in my face and demanded drugs and money. I told Sandra to go forward and close the forward cabin door. The second rather calm pirate came down and controlled me with his gun.

The first gunman went forward and started to kick down our forward cabin door. To calm the situation I told Sandra to open the door. While she sat on the bunk in her underwear the first gunman rifled our forward drawers and cabinets.

Sandra was amazingly calm and in control of herself. Given the out of control first gunman I felt that calm and cooperation would be the best course of action.

I gave the second gunman all of the money that I had in my wallet (about $65.00 U.S. in Bs.). He demanded more. I told him that it was all we had. I showed him an old out of date credit card that I keep for just such a purpose explaining that we used it to get money from cash machines when we needed it. We learned a long time ago to carry very little "show cash".

The pirates also stole the 12 volt power supply for our computer. They likely had no idea what it was but they stole it anyway. They also stole our 35 MM "Minolta" camera.

The forward gunman started to remove our small forward TV when his buddies outside screamed Policia and they all took off. I followed them outside as they fled in a dark hulled very high prow rather short penero with a very large outboard. They fired off one shot.

Luckily the pirates were not very bright. There were a lot of things exposed that they could have easily taken but missed - our laptop computer, our almost new printer in a box, our brand new DVD player, our portable GPS, our two big spotlights, our binoculars, our fishing rod, our big TV, our VCR, our kitchen appliances, etc. It could have been a lot worse for us.

As soon as the pirates were gone we set off our alarm system and called for help on our VHF. German "Antonia", American "Piper" and French "Jotake" all offered assistance. There is a "Police Boat" stationed at the "Power Boat Marina" in Porlamar with three cops rotating duty 24 hours a day. Unable to raise the cop on duty on the VHF radio we went to the "Power Boat Marina" to find him.

The cop had turned off his marine VHF radio, his Police frequency portable radio, his cell phone and was asleep aboard a large powerboat. There was nothing the cops could do we were told. It had taken so long to find the cop and wake him up that the bad guys had gotten away. The cop made us feel that we should apologize for having disturbed him.

The forward gunman had not worn gloves and had touched a number of plastic fastener envelopes as well as our small TV. His fingerprints were on our boat. The cop refused to visit our boat to either file a report or to investigate.

We feel that we can identify one or both of the unmasked gunmen. From a pirate boarding a week or so earlier of another boat in Porlamar we had a complete description as well as the registration number of the penero likely used by the pirates in our attack.

This was all presented to the Police the next morning when I filed a report at "Marina Juan". For a variety of lame reasons the cops said that there was nothing they could do.

We were not prepared for a pirate attack in Porlamar. Had we been prepared we would have handled the attack better. Having circumnavigated nearly around the globe we pride ourselves on doing our homework.

When we arrived in Porlamar we specifically asked if there had ever been a pirate attack in the anchorage. We were told there had been none. After our attack we were told by a cruiser that there had been five in the last three years. We presented this information and repeated our question. This time instead of none we were told that it might not have been as many as five.

Nothing would likely change in Porlamar if a cruiser was knifed, macheteed, shot or even murdered. Things would likely change if the cruiser money went elsewhere.

This incident occurred in late November, 2005.

Knowing that Venezuela is a "rough" place with little law and order I keep a gun aboard, and it was very handy!!!

We were anchored at Isla Piritu about 5 miles from the mainland. Big Mistake. Too close to land!! At about 9 PM I heard a small outboard, turned out the lights and with our binoculars watched three guys approaching in a small boat. I already had my gun with me. When they got close I told them to move away. Instead they raced to our catamaran's stern and one guy jumped aboard. I shot over his head. Just like in a cowboy movie! He jumped back into the boat and I covered all of them with my gun. They could see the muzzle of my gun, but not me, and I had them right in front of me.

Pleading they were poor fishermen wanting to give us fish they pulled away slowly. About 100 meters from us they sat and had a discussion. We got more ammunition and moved things around so that we had good cover. All of a sudden they came towards us very fast and as they turned for land started shooting. I just watched as they headed away, more scared of us than we were of them. I never fired back. For sure, we got the anchor up quickly and were drinking rum in Puerto La Cruz 3 hours later. We were lucky ... very lucky.

Sadly Laguna Grande has had two boardings in the past 6 months. Not safe anymore. We don't want to feel that we went cruising in Baghdad!

Because of the gun these cruisers do not want to present this report themselves and have requested that they not be identified.

This item was reported in the September 2005 issue of "Compass" as well as in the Venezuelan newspapers. The report that follows is from Canadians Kris and Sandra aboard s/v "Nomotos".

August 4, 2005 in the bay next to us in Laguna Grande Golfo De Cariaco Venezuela at 11:15 PM pitch black with no moon Dwayne and Marilyn aboard the American catamaran "Tortilla Flat" (the only boat there at the time) were awakened by the sound of their dinghy being stolen. The dinghy a ten foot "Caribe" with a 15 HP "Yamaha" had been raised on aft davits tied but not chained or cabled.

At least four pirates had arrived in a penero. Two of them had swum over to the catamaran, climbed aboard the steps and cut the dinghy's lifting tackle and lines with a machete. They had to know that releasing the dinghy in this fashion would make a lot of noise. It is scary that they were not concerned. Dwayne had removed the plastic key from the outboard but the pirates were ready with their own key. This was obviously not their first theft.

Dwayne came out and started fighting with the two pirates on his boat's aft deck. "Tortilla Flat" at the time had no working flashlight or working lights on it's aft deck. Dwayne was hit repeatedly with a machete but in the pitch black thought that they were hitting him with a club.

When the pirates jumped into the water Dwayne followed to try and save his dinghy. Unbeknownst to him a third pirate was swimming the dinghy away. A fourth pirate jumped into the dinghy from the penero and attacked Dwayne with a machete. The pirates got the dinghy started and took off leaving Dwayne for dead. Dwayne swam back to his boat.

Marilyn spent quite some time stemming Dwayne's blood flow by applying compresses. She then weighed anchor and motored to our bay using radar and depthsounder. She was attracted by our bright anchor light and was successful in waking us. I was nervous going out of our locked cabin but the voice was female, she spoke English and I could hear an inboard instead of a penero. We cycled our alarm system and radioed the other boats in our bay for help. As quickly as we could we launched our dinghy and I went over the first one aboard.

I had never been exposed to anything like this. It was horrible with large pools of blood everywhere on the aft deck and the port steps. Dwayne was sprawled nude on his back on the aft deck. The average adult holds about five to six liters of blood. Dwayne's blood loss would likely have been greatest just after he was injured when he was working hard fighting his attackers and swimming back to his boat. Guessing at what he lost in the water and what I saw on deck he must have lost two to three liters of blood.

In my haste to render assistance I had only donned shorts - no shirt or footwear. It was impossible to move about the aft deck without stepping into the blood. It was very slippery. Later before getting back into our dinghy I rinsed my feet in the sea off the catamaran's aft steps. The next morning the rainwater in our dinghy was tinged pink.

Dwayne had nine very deep cuts to his head, chest, arms, shoulders and back. He had great difficulty rolling over so that I could check the wounds on his back. The wounds were some two to four inches long through both layers of skin and fat and into muscle. I looked at all of the wounds and ascertained that none of them was bleeding.

Dwayne was lucid, shaking, throwing up occasionally from shock, reasonably calm and coping well with the pain. He was as comfortable as he could be. I checked three other boats by dinghy and / or radio to find out if any of them had any medical training or medical supplies. Medical supplies were not going to help much as Dwayne was not bleeding and his cuts were so severe that only a doctor with suturing could help.

I immediately determined that the victim's injuries although quite horrific were not life threatening and given that the bleeding had stopped the crisis was under control. However shock could quickly change that evaluation. My whole focus at that point was getting more help than I could offer and that meant a doctor, nurse or paramedic.

I had no idea how far help would be but assumed that it would not be close. The first choice was to have help come to us in the form of a fast boat. The other boats and Sandra called "Maydays" in English and Spanish on HF as well as VHF but there was no response of any kind. In times of crisis in third world countries we have found that the cruisers generally have to do it themselves.

Greg of "New Passages" was the only other person to dinghy over to help. He knew the area and knew that help could be secured in Cumana some 12 miles two hours away. He volunteered to drive the victims' boat there. I offered to go along but he felt safer my staying behind in case there were problems with his wife and his boat. Along the way they repeatedly fed Dwayne liquids and pain pills which he repeatedly threw up. They elevated his legs, forced him to stay awake and kept him as comfortable as possible.

When the catamaran arrived at "Marina Cumanagoto" the night security there pulled out all of the stops calling anyone who spoke English and could help get Dwayne medical help. Dwayne was quickly transferred by ambulance to a private hospital and got first class care. The doctor dared not sedate Dwayne because shock had badly set in. He was given a local anesthetic before his wounds were stitched up. A surgeon and an assistant spent three hours to close up all of Dwayne's wounds.

The next day Greg needed a ride back as the catamaran no longer had dinghies. Given the seriousness of what had happened we would have expected the Authorities to rush over and investigate. They could have brought Greg home in some official boat, ship or whatever.

It took four days for the Authorities to visit Laguna Grande and investigate. As was the case with all of the other pirate attacks in Venezuela no one was charged and the Authorities did not recover any of the stolen property.

The marina quickly came to the rescue. They offered free of charge their big double outboard penero to take Greg home. The trip took only 15 minutes. A fast boat when the alarm was raised is the sort of thing which should have been available from the Authorities in the first place. The time that was lost for the catamaran to motor two hours to Cumana could have had Dwayne's non life threatening injuries kill him.

Dwayne was interviewed by the local media and the Authorities the next day in the hospital. He recovered extremely well and was out of the hospital within four days.

This report was in the "Vancouver Sun" on December 13, 2005 and posted on "Yahoo News" on December 15, 2005. It was also published in "Compass".

The headline was "Armed Caribbean pirates loot B.C. Surgeon's yacht"

For Steve McVicar, the worst part of lying in the cockpit of his sailboat with a sawed-off shotgun pressed to his head by a Venezuelan pirate was how casually his life could end.

"It's just a horrible feeling that your life is so frail, hanging by a thread, when somebody has a gun on you," the 50-year-old Trail orthopedic surgeon said Monday in a telephone interview. "You could be gone instantly."

McVicar and his companions, another B.C. doctor and his wife, had just set off on a two-week Caribbean cruise off the coast of Venezuela early last month when pirates turned their holiday into 30 minutes of helplessness and terror.

The attack came the first evening out of Puerto la Cruz on the coast of Venezuela. McVicar had just spent two weeks working on the boat, and when his friends arrived, they headed 11 kilometers offshore to Isla Borracho and anchored for the night.

There was no reason to expect trouble. McVicar has kept Alioth, his 13-meter French-built steel-hulled ketch, in the Caribbean since 1999, and knows the waters well, having headed down for two-week trips three or four times a year. Both the Venezuelan coast guard and the national guard patrol the waters around Puerto la Cruz, and the bay they anchored in was reputed to be safe.

Early in the evening, the three were lounging in the cockpit, watching a DVD. McVicar, drowsy from a cold remedy, was not keeping a watch, and the sound of the movie muffled the noise of the outboard as a six-meter open fishing boat approached.

"All of a sudden, five armed men came on board and one of them put a shotgun right to my head," he recalled. "The others had pistols and a machete, and they ended up tying us up and proceeded to loot the boat."

The Canadians lay on the deck, bound hand and foot, with one pirate holding the shotgun on them while his companions ransacked the main cabin.

Nearby in the darkened aft cabin, McVicar's own shotgun and a handful of shells -- a potential defence now turned appalling danger -- lay in plain sight on his bunk. Mercifully the pirates never looked there. "I shudder to think if they'd seen it," he said.

He remembered all too well the fate of world-class yachtsman Sir Peter Blake, who grabbed his gun to challenge pirates who boarded his boat in the Amazon River in 2001 and was shot dead on the spot.

"You think, if only I had my gun on deck, I could have loaded it, which I usually do, but what if I had fired? What if they had a machine gun and fired back? You'd wind up having a firefight.

"That's what was going through my brain, so I offered no resistance, so it's just as well I didn't have my gun up there."

While he lay helpless, he could see into the main cabin, where the pirates were pawing through his gear and taking what they fancied - satellite phone, VHF radio, expensive sailing clothing, electronic instruments and more.

"The sad part was, I had an empty knapsack, and I had about $10,000 in a zipped pocket," he said.

"I usually hide that on the boat somewhere, but I never got around to it and they used the knapsack to put stuff in, not knowing the cash was there, so it was really disheartening to see them take the knapsack."

There was worse to come. The pirates then took the woman down into the boat and molested her, taking her clothes off.

McVicar and the woman's husband were afraid she might be taken ashore and raped, but she was left on the boat.

After 30 minutes, the pirates left, and after 10 minutes of twisting and squirming, the captives freed themselves. They contacted a French yacht lying at anchor about 300 meters away, which came to see if they were alright.

Assured they were, it left the bay immediately, as did McVicar, who took the Alioth straight back to Puerto la Cruz."

This incident will be published in "Compass" and "The Boca" and posted on "Caribcruisers" and "Noonsite" websites.

On December 4, 2005 at about 10:45 PM with some 85 boats in the anchorage we were robbed in Porlamar for the second time. Our circumnavigation was started in September of 1996 and is almost complete. In all that time we have only been robbed twice.

This time by three to four pirates in their 20's. The pirates were in our cockpit pounding on our companionway doors, screaming "Garda Costa" and shinning a large spotlight in my eyes. Awakened out of a sound sleep and not thinking too clearly I at first thought that it was a legitimate boarding by the authorities.

Two pirates with rusty automatic handguns forced their way below decks. Describing the guns to people who know guns they guessed them to have been either 22 or 32 caliber - not that it means much looking down their barrels.

The first one below deck was drunk and barely in control of himself. He pointed his gun in my face and demanded drugs and money. I told Sandra to go forward and close the forward cabin door. The second rather calm pirate came down and controlled me with his gun.

The first gunman went forward and started to kick down our forward cabin door. To calm the situation I told Sandra to open the door. While she sat on the bunk in her underwear the first gunman rifled our forward drawers and cabinets.

Sandra was amazingly calm and in control of herself. Given the out of control first gunman I felt that calm and cooperation would be the best course of action.

I gave the second gunman all of the money that I had in my wallet (about $65.00 U.S. in Bs.). He demanded more. I told him that it was all we had. I showed him an old out of date credit card that I keep for just such a purpose explaining that we used it to get money from cash machines when we needed it. We learned a long time ago to carry very little "show cash".

The pirates also stole the 12 volt power supply for our computer. They likely had no idea what it was but they stole it anyway. They also stole our 35 MM "Minolta" camera.

The forward gunman started to remove our small forward TV when his buddies outside screamed Policia and they all took off. I followed them outside as they fled in a dark hulled very high prow rather short penero with a very large outboard. They fired off one shot.

Luckily the pirates were not very bright. There were a lot of things exposed that they could have easily taken but missed - our laptop computer, our almost new printer in a box, our brand new DVD player, our portable GPS, our two big spotlights, our binoculars, our fishing rod, our big TV, our VCR, our kitchen appliances, etc. It could have been a lot worse for us.

As soon as the pirates were gone we set off our alarm system and called for help on our VHF. German "Antonia", American "Piper" and French "Jotake" all offered assistance. There is a "Police Boat" stationed at the "Power Boat Marina" in Porlamar with three cops rotating duty 24 hours a day. Unable to raise the cop on duty on the VHF radio we went to the "Power Boat Marina" to find him.

The cop had turned off his marine VHF radio, his Police frequency portable radio, his cell phone and was asleep aboard a large powerboat. There was nothing the cops could do we were told. It had taken so long to find the cop and wake him up that the bad guys had gotten away. The cop made us feel that we should apologize for having disturbed him.

The forward gunman had not worn gloves and had touched a number of plastic fastener envelopes as well as our small TV. His fingerprints were on our boat. The cop refused to visit our boat to either file a report or to investigate.

We feel that we can identify one or both of the unmasked gunmen. From a pirate boarding a week or so earlier of another boat in Porlamar we had a complete description as well as the registration number of the penero likely used by the pirates in our attack.

This was all presented to the Police the next morning when I filed a report at "Marina Juan". For a variety of lame reasons the cops said that there was nothing they could do.

We were not prepared for a pirate attack in Porlamar. Had we been prepared we would have handled the attack better. Having circumnavigated nearly around the globe we pride ourselves on doing our homework.

When we arrived in Porlamar we specifically asked if there had ever been a pirate attack in the anchorage. We were told there had been none. After our attack we were told by a cruiser that there had been five in the last three years. We presented this information and repeated our question. This time instead of none we were told that it might not have been as many as five.

Nothing would likely change in Porlamar if a cruiser was knifed, macheteed, shot or even murdered. Things would likely change if the cruiser money went elsewhere.

 Key of Life Co.Ltd. Sailing Club ANKH - Erich Beyer, Dir. Postfach 377 A-1140 WIEN - AUSTRIA - zuletzt aktualisiert: 18.01.2009 08:15