Boating death St. Lucia

Greetings,
Husband gunned down as he defends his wife from yacht robbers in St Lucia: Couple attacked during year-long sailing trip to celebrate her 60th birthday | Mail Online

Marty (Bay Pelican) is in St Lucia now. Although, he is in the north in Rodney Bay.

That just sucks...so sorry for the family.....

According to the article "It emerged last night that they had been forced to stay the night in the port of Vieux Fort after being denied clearance to leave by customs officials.

I'm thinking the officials saw easy pickin's and they or their associates dropped by that night.

Wow. Tragic story indeed.

Greetings,
Mr. S. Although things do sound a bit fishy, let's not jump to any conclusions. My only purpose in posting this is to point out tragedy can happen anywhere at any time.

My sympathy to the family. A tragic and needless way to lose a life.

Trying to get more information on what happened. Bay Pelican is in Rodney Bay some 29 miles (1-1/2 hours by car) away.

Vieux Fort is rarely frequented by cruisers with the exception of a few who anchor there during the day to pick up someone from the adjacent airport.

What a tragic story. My heart goes out to the family. I can't imagine the pain. A professional couple who worked all their lives making their dream come true. They finally lived to see this happening at the age of 60, where they took off for the journey of their lifetime. And after cruising for 6 months it ends like this? This is just sick. I don't think I'll ever forget this shocking story.

Just last year when we were on a cruise ship vacationing in St. Lucia (which was one of the ports and happened to be the highlight of the cruise) my wife and I were thinking how can we get our boat here. The more I read about stories like this, including the mess that just took place in Mexico, it definitely makes me think twice about future dreams.

Obviously, a rare tragic story shouldn't keep cruisers away from exploring beautiful parts of the world, but with stories like this we get reminded that when we're out there on our own, the safety of the crew and the vessel is only in our own hands. We need to take all necessary precautionary steps to make sure we're able to defend ourselves when a situation calls for it.

On the other hand I can see how my wife will state, if we have to go through a training to handle fire arms, if we have to purchase several types of weapons, why do we need to go to place like this? I guess, my response is that it can happen anywhere and anytime.

Be safe out there, folks.

Steve said:

...I'm thinking the officials saw easy pickin's and they or their associates dropped by that night.

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That was my first thought, however as FF stated...

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. S. Although things do sound a bit fishy, let's not jump to any conclusions. My only purpose in posting this is to point out tragedy can happen anywhere at any time.

Click to expand...

Alex F said:

...Just last year when we were on a cruise ship vacationing in St. Lucia (which was one of the ports and happened to be the highlight of the cruise) my wife and I were thinking how can we get our boat here. The more I read about stories like this, including the mess that just took place in Mexico, it definitely makes me think twice about future dreams.

Click to expand...

Definitely be safe!
As FF said, it can (and does) happen anywhere. Please, don't let situations like this derail your plans. While not a criminal's "goal", like terrorism, if you allow things like this to keep you away, to change your plans, then they win!

We're definitely out there alone, regardless of where "out there" may be. Stateside, walking the Keys, Downtown Tampa, a crowded beach, or ashore on a distant isle. Your safety remains in your own hands for the most part.

Vigilance, common sense and preparation go a long way toward your own personal safety. If this was an inside job by the local Federales, then they were screwed from jump Let's hope that's not the case.

On the other hand I can see how my wife will state, if we have to go through a training to handle fire arms, if we have to purchase several types of weapons, why do we need to go to place like this? I guess, my response is that it can happen anywhere and anytime.

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Training can be fun. And as you state, it's good training to have, regardless of where you're at or where you're going. A little hand to hand (K.I.S.S. style) and some improvised weapons training wouldn't hurt either.

So sad, and my heart goes out to the family of this couple.

RIP

Greetings,
Pictured: The men accused of murdering retired British businessman in St Lucia | Mail Online

Alex F said:

Just last year when we were on a cruise ship vacationing in St. Lucia (which was one of the ports and happened to be the highlight of the cruise) my wife and I were thinking how can we get our boat here. The more I read about stories like this, including the mess that just took place in Mexico, it definitely makes me think twice about future dreams.

Click to expand...

As I said in my previous post, my sympathy to the widow. No one deserves to die the way this cruiser did.

To answer Alex's comment. We are in St. Lucia and were there the night of the murder. We are in Rodney Bay which is the north end of the island as opposed to the south end where the murder happened.

The islands of the Caribbean are a different culture than that of North America. It can be safely sailed and lived in but one must be street smart, very smart. Several suggestions, avoid anchoring in locations which are not dominated by cruisers, avoid flashing jewelry or cash, do not use an ATM out of the marina area at night.

St. Lucia is one of the safer islands in the Eastern Caribbean but this is not true of Vieux Fort at night.

I could expand on the precautions we cruisers take here but feel it is not appropriate immediately following the death of a cruiser.

Bay Pelican said:

...The islands of the Caribbean are a different culture than that of North America. It can be safely sailed and lived in but one must be street smart, very smart. Several suggestions, avoid anchoring in locations which are not dominated by cruisers, avoid flashing jewelry or cash, do not use an ATM out of the marina area at night...

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Exactly.
Hulls Bay in St. Thomas, a beautiful vacation spot, has had several acts of violence over the past few years or so. It's the same anywhere. Safety in numbers, common sense and preparation.

My sympathies to the families

On a side note, I'm glad they caught these scumbags. It says a lot to me about the resolve of their law enforcement community to protect the cruiser community, their guests and preserve their island.

Thanks for the update

Alex F said:

On the other hand I can see how my wife will state, if we have to go through a training to handle fire arms, if we have to purchase several types of weapons, why do we need to go to place like this? I guess, my response is that it can happen anywhere and anytime.

Be safe out there, folks.

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It truly can happen anywhere. We love anchoring overnight. Many times we are in remote places. In the Bahamas many times we are the only boat in an anchorage. We are observant of our surroundings, and will play close attention to suspicious boats lurking in the area. We are also armed for self protection.

Both Lou and I have taken gun safety courses put on by the local sheriff's dept. Lou taught the sheriff in first grade, so we maybe get a little special attention including extra range time. A 12 gauge shot gun with #1 buck shot is a weapon of choice. I also have a small 380 semi automatic pistol that the sheriff calls a pea shooter. He says get a Glock. After using the 380 he said you are pretty good with it. Keep it. At the short ranges on the boat it should be adequate.

The terrorists and crooks are winning if we let them take away our freedom of movement. Be savvy and alert, but live life.

Moonstruck said:

...The terrorists and crooks are winning if we let them take away our freedom of movement. Be savvy and alert, but live life.

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AMEN brother, you nailed it
Never give them the satisfaction!

So sad.

On any isolated mooring or dock, it is a good exercise to ask "exactly what will I do in response to boarders?" And be prepared and practiced to do it. Most boarders are common thieves, and have no intent for violence. If presented with the threat of force early in the boarding, they usually scatter.

If they get in the boat and are presented with force as a surprise, panic can ensue in both parties and all hell can break loose.

Someone on the crew needs to sleep with one eye open, near cabin entrance.