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News of yet another act of piracy in Venezuelan waters, coupled with an article published in the a local Caribbean nautical magazine, extolling the virtues of Venezuela and decrying those who call it dangerous, reminded me, yet again, of the way in which vested interests influence so much of what goes on.
Being in the middle of a situation at the moment, involving our right to carry arms aboard, and an attempt that is being made to deprive us of that right, the topic is already near the surface of our minds. Weapons are an emotive subject, I can see pursed lips already. Those who live within the comforting range of a police force can afford to have attitudes about personal arms.
Those of us who are obliged to fend for ourselves, there being no policemen on the oceans, have to shape up to our responsibilities.
As captain, responsible for the welfare of all aboard my vessel, it is my duty to attend to the safety of any passengers or crew that sail with me, whether in waters as close to 'home' as North Africa, the Caribbean, or as far away as the China Sea.
It is my earnest belief that to go to sea without weapons for the protection and defence of the ship and crew, knowing that there is no hope of calling for help in the event of a confrontation is downright irresponsible.
My vessel has been equipped with a Franchi riot gun and anti personnel ammunition for the past sixteen years. In addition there was an Astra .22 automatic pistol with hollow lead ammunition for maximum damage on impact, which was lost overboard during target practice at sea and is due to be replaced.
In discussions with skippers, about the carrying of arms on board, I have been surprised at how many have said, as though it exonerated them from any further thought on the topic "Oh, I don't know the first thing about guns". Well, at one point I am sure they knew nothing about sailing, the use of a
V.H.F., Radar or navigation, either, but they had to learn to be able to get to sea.
In my opinion, instruction in the proper use of arms should be part of the curriculum for an offshore skipper's
license. Further, I believe that it should be compulsory to have weapons on board if the passage plans for the vessel include travel in waters that are known to be becoming more, not less, dangerous as time goes on.
Lloyds, in one of their many reports, stated that it was their belief that up to 70% of boats 'lost at sea' are, in fact, victims of piracy. They are hardly likely to have exaggerated the figure, since to do so would hardly be in their best interests.
The ease with which the sailing vessel 'Lorna' and her Swedish owners Bo and Vivi-Maj Lorna Miren were approached, in broad daylight, off the
Venezuelan coast on the 19th of March 2001, is a fair example of what can happen to
normal people enjoying a gentle cruise on the sunny Caribbean sea. The 'Lorna' was approached from astern by a pirogue full of men, ostensibly asking for cigarettes. When told that there were none aboard, one of the occupants of the pirogue promptly put a bullet in
Mr. Miren's abdomen. Leaving an elderly man in the pirogue, the others then boarded and robbed the boat, stripping it of all that they
perceived might be of value.
On this occasion, fortunately, the boat was left afloat and Mrs. Miren alive. There was no mention in reports of her having been sexually molested. Another piece of good fortune. The lady was left, however, with a critically injured husband and no means of communication, other than the EPIRB, to try and raise help. Either the radio cables had been sabotaged to ensure that help could not be summoned from close by, or the robbers had taken the appliances with them. This is a typical attack for the area.
We have interviewed several people over the past few years who have been involved in similar incidents, if not worse ones, and this story bears testimony to the fact that nothing has changed. Pirates are as brutal today as they have been for centuries. These thugs do not see their prey as people, with lives to live, but merely as inconvenient obstacles to the acquisition of what is not theirs to take.
The Venezuelan authorities give every appearance of not giving a damn and, personally, I am just as concerned for the safety of my boat when a Venezuelan coast guard appears as I am when a pirogue full of vermin pulls out of a hidden bay.
Many boat owners who have had run-in's with pirates have not reported the incidents for various reasons, sometimes because they fear being accused of exaggeration. Since they are not dead, the theory goes, those cannot have been real pirates. Anyone who uses force, or the threat thereof, to come aboard your boat and rob you, in an area where there is no body to defend your rights, is
committing an act of piracy, as far as we are concerned, whether he leaves you your life or takes that too.
Whilst cruising the beautiful Venezuela (and, make no mistake, it is stunningly beautiful), for two years, from 1993 to '95, I had a knife pulled on me whilst changing some U.S.
currency into Bolivars in an attempted mugging, ashore. At anchor, I had an intruder swim to the boat, in the early hours, with a large plastic bag to fill with the contents of my boat whilst, he thought, I was asleep. Finally, on a third occasion, the boat was robbed of it's Avon dinghy and 40 h.p. outboard, the yacht's interior was stripped and both cash and jewelry was stolen, By the end of that spree the robber had availed himself of our goods to the tune of $10,000, plus there was the damage to the vessel.
Even having the identity of the criminal - the intruder had accidentally dropped his identification plastic card with his army serial number, during one of his struggles to divest the boat of some piece of equipment - the authorities apologised and said the man seemed to have disappeared.
Rumour had it that, indeed the man had disappeared but only after the police had confiscated his spoils and divided them up amongst themselves. Not an altogether rare scenario, sadly.
After returning to Europe for a year we left, once more, for the sunny Caribbean in late November 1997. I reckoned that Venezuela, having witnessed a mass exodus from its shores, thanks to a combination of greedy boatyards and robbing bandits at sea, would have got it's act together and cleaned up the mess in it's stunning back yard, by then.
If anything, the situation had worsened. We had planned to take a leisurely cruise from Trinidad to San Francisco bay and thence to Los Testigos, Margarita, Santa Fe and Puerto La Cruz. Having heard about the latest spate of attacks on boats at anchor and cruising near the coastline, we felt that, being 'a deux' and given the fact that we would have to stand anchor watches, rather than relax and enjoy, it was no more attractive a destination now than it had been on the last trip. These were not stories made up to scare 'yachties'. They were factual reports from victims of crime and from those who had found what remained of the less fortunate prey.
If we would have to remain alert for piracy whenever we put into one of those beautiful bays that the rest of the Caribbean can only dream about, it would all be too fraught to allow enjoyment of the natural beauty and so we cruised from Trinidad up-island. Once again, we voted with our keels.
We have just read an article in the Caribbean Compass, a monthly free paper that purports to let its readers know what is going on around and about the Caribe, generally by publishing input from readers.
We were not amused to read an article from Terry and Jeanette Sullivan of the S/ V 'Glass Slipper'. In their article they refer to 'negative press' and that Venezuela should not be abandoned by yachtsmen, as this will cause even more poverty and
therefore make it even more dangerous for those cruisers that do go to Venezuela.
The poverty in Venezuela is a disgrace. The vast national fossil fuel and mineral
resources, include natural gas, bauxite, gold, iron ore, copper, zinc, lead and diamonds. Oh, I nearly forgot the vast forests, the platinum, coal, tin, asbestos phosphates, titanium and
magnetite. The existence of such resources would indicate, at least to me, that poverty shouldn't be on Venezuela's agenda. Since at least the mid-19th century, Venezuela has had a rather less than attractive political history.
Most democratic powers have turned a blind eye to the vast gap between the haves and have-
nots. This often happens when countries tip up with more finite goodies in their basket than you could shake a stick at. Corruption, et al, is conveniently ignored as the deals are struck.
The Sullivans sum up by saying "We have heard the same stories, but have had no problems ourselves in the Mochima Parque anchorages or Golfo de Santa Fe". It reminds me of the story of a soldier who was late getting back to camp. He took a short cut and, unknowingly, wandered through a minefield. On arrival, back at his camp, when he was duly admonished, the twit apparently retorted "Well nothing happened to me!"
I wonder what Bo and Vivi-Maj Lorna Miren, the owners of S/V 'Lorna' would have to say to one comment from the Sullivans: "Wouldn't it be better to read about how to avoid some of the pitfalls of cruising Venezuela than to whine about what you cannot change?" It is so easy to assume that one is getting it right when nothing and no-one has, so far, put one to the test. Do they, perhaps, think that there is a magic formula one can learn, guaranteed to dissuade pirates from robbing one, after all, once they have come alongside?
It seems to me that most civil servants, insurance salesmen and politicians across the world are never personally faced with grim reality. Perhaps they get their
excitement in the swimming pool, on the tennis court or at the cinema, immersed in virtual reality. Their news is acquired second hand, via television and whichever printed media they choose, presumably on the basis of the desired political slant therein. It would seem they have not the slightest idea what it is actually like to live in areas of the world that they purport to govern.
Perhaps, one day, it will be obligatory to have experience in a given field before one is allowed to make decisions concerning it. It is bad enough that their ill-informed ideologies are allowed to proliferate without the sailing media endowing the foolishness of a couple who have, frankly, just been downright lucky so far, with meaning, presumably to ingratiate themselves with advertisers whose business they hope to get or keep.
Speaking from experience of both the better and worst aspects of cruising Venezuela's coastline, I would say that one should either avoid the danger spots altogether or go armed and ready to defend those in one's care against sharing the fate of so many whose stories will never see the light of day in the sailing media.
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IS IT SAFE THERE?
