We are currently sailing from St Lucia to Grenada, since our cat was totaled in the BVIs. I just received an email with the following My wife Pam recently received the attached warning that was posted on the "Women Who Sail" Facebook group. We own a crewed 4800 in St. Lucia and this is certain not the message that we want potential charters to hear. We hope that the Moorings management and other vacation orient businesses are putting appropriate pressure on the St. Lucien authorities to address this concern quickly.
Al and Pam Swanstrom
How Swede It Is
M4800 crewed - St. Lucia
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Subject: Facebook post -- Women who sail
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2017 15:09:17 -0400
From: pam <pam@swanstroms.com>
To: Alan Swanstrom <al@swanstroms.com>
WARNING! Three nights ago in Soufriere Bay, Pitons, St. Lucia, a Moorings catamaran, not 20m away from our boat was boarded in the middle of the night by multiple armed gunmen. They stole all of the money and valuables onboard, terrifying the passengers, forcing the children to jump overboard into the water.
We arrived in the bay at sunset prior to the incident and were approached by a local boat offering guidance into the anchorage. This is not uncommon and usually welcomed, but I immediately had a bad instinctual feeling. The two guys were far too inquisitive, pushy and unaccepting of our decline to give them anything or accept a ride to shore with them. They claimed it was unsafe to take our dinghy in, but, instead, they would taxi us (leaving our boat unattended and us without transportation, at will, back to our boat). Of course, we continued to decline, but it quickly became a very uncomfortable situation. We left the bay immediately at day break.
This is not an isolated situation. There have been multiple boardings reported (one incident ended in a man being murdered protecting his wife), purse snatchings in broad daylight and even reports of rape in St. Lucia. The locals hassle you relentlessy. Please be careful, smart and safe if you choose to visit this island.
We will not be returning to St. Lucia. We have spent the last four months cruising the Caribbean and it has been nothing short of amazing. With the beauty of all the other islands, I have no desire to put up with that kind of [censored]. St. Lucia, get your act together. The police station is right there, yet their presence was ZERO! Put some cameras up! PATROL, PATROL, PATROL! Clean up the riff raff off the main street. The island is gorgeous, even the bars and restaurants were nice, but not nice enough to risk my life or property. Cruisers BEWARE!
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab® S
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Posted by: Al <al@swanstroms.com>
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