This is my year for a long voyage. Further than the AICW beyond the Bahamas-
Wintering here in Washington DC, Boat sitting in Baltimore until May-Wiill do
the Great Loop and intend to skidattle from FLa. to other points after Nov. 1
2009.

Original plans were to cruise south reaching Trinidad/Venezuela by June 2010
to wait out the next hurricane season-or Rio Dulce Guatemala--or simular-

What I catch from the various computer nets is alot of DON"T COME HERE--DANGER
DEATH reports, Its beyond the dingy theft warnings its more like 4 guys
boarding-people dying type of thing.

Presently, I am in the planning stages, and  really want to do the
Caribbean-but the thought of self defence as a boating skill-kinda sucks the
wind out of the "this is supposed to be fun" thing.

Alternativly, I do not seem to get the sense that Cuba is amoung those problem
areas and that a circumnavigation Nov 2009 untill Spring 2010 would be safer
than continuing on towards Pirate world (I have had Pirate boadings in
Nassau).Is there some common trick like dual citizenship or reflagging the
boat that works best for Cuba

I am beginning to wonder about my goals and my wifes fondness for the
Chesepeake Bay as a forever Cruising ground (we are spoiled).

What are your thoughts on unsafe places and how to best avoid them--I feel
perfectly safe in the French canals-the AICW-the Loop-there are many places to
go where saftey is not the main concern and several like Haiti that scream
warnings. Perhaps I need different dreams to avoid nightmares?

Kevin Kearney/JOLIE

Kevin,

Before I tender my opinion, let me preface by saying that we cruised
extensively throughout the Caribbean back in the 1998, 1999 and 2000.  We
visited many different ports throughout Hispanola, the Caribbean islands
down through Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, a few stops in northern S.
America, Panama and on up the western side of the Gulf of Mexico.

At that time, acts of piracy were few and far between in the Caribbean.
That holds true to this day, but you do still need to keep your guard up and
have an overall security plan in place.

A few things we did to our boat, not necessarily in light of cruising the
Caribbean, but rather, for overall general security measures no matter where
we are:

1. Installed a security alarm on the boat with an uncomfortably loud siren.
   A "panic" button was installed in a discrete location at the helm.

2. Installed "NRA Member" decals in conspicuous locations on the boat.  I
   know it may sound silly, but most would-be thiefs know that an NRA member is
   probably a gun owner.

3. Kept multiple firearms onboard and in various locations.  I know this is
   a heated topic, but I'm a gun owner, I'm trained in firearm use and I feel
   comfortable with firearms and the operation thereof.  Other readers may not
   be comfortable with that, and that is fine.  It's worse to have a gun in the
   hands of an untrained person than to have no gun at all.

4. Install the largest remote spotlight you can find in the highest
   possible location on your boat.

Operationally speaking, most marinas you will encounter are reasonably safe
and secure.  Common sense goes a long way.  If valuables are on display, you
make a good target.  We would go out of our way to secure all articles that
could be stolen.  Always keep window covers or blinds in place when you're
not on board.  One thing I always did was leave a radio or television on at
all times when the boat was unattended.  I felt this would always make a
would-be burgular think twice about breaking in and encountering an unknown
situation.  We never walked around displaying fashionable clothing or
expensive jewelry.  To this day, I wear no watches and no rings.  "Island
time" doesn't require a timepiece.

As I see it, the biggest threat is petty theft.  We heard the occasional
report of a stolen dinghy but not much more than that.  We never left ours
unattended and never left it in the water alongside our boat when not in
use.  Any time we were done with it, it would get hauled out and secured to
the boat with a heavy, visible chain and lock.

We also never approach questionable vessels unless an obvious distress
situation is in progress.  Even in that case, it has to be smoke, fire or
people in the water for us to get any closer than 100 feet or so.

During our time down there, we always felt pretty safe, but at the same
time, felt pretty alone as well.  The general gut feeling that I got is that
if you ever did have a problem, you would probably be on your own to deal
with it as things tend to move at a snails pace down in the islands.

We were never approached by any strange vessels during our travels, but the
"drill" we had should it ever occur was to head out to sea, knowing full
well that we could never outrun anyone.  Doing so would give us a little bit
more time to attempt radio or sat. phone contact with authorities (or anyone
who would listen), and also allowed us to muster our defense should they
decide that they wanted to come aboard.

I know I have commented on this before, but a number of years ago, a good
friend was hijacked, shot and left for dead off the coast of Belize.  He
thought he was rendering assistance to a disabled boat.

A good rule of thumb is to just always be on the defensive and never let
your guard down.  That's a good rule of thumb no matter where you are.  When
you are ashore and walking around strange towns, always walk and act like
you are very familiar and know where you are going.  Don't make yourself
look like an easy target and you won't end up as one.

Bottom line -- preparation goes a long way.  It's a fun trip.  It's a great
region of the world to see by boat and you CAN do it safely if you use some
simple common sense.

-Ryan

-----Original Message-----
From: trawlers-and-trawlering-bounces@lists.samurai.com
[mailto:trawlers-and-trawlering-bounces@lists.samurai.com] On Behalf Of
Kevin Kearney
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2009 9:53 AM
To: trawlers-and-trawlering@lists.samurai.com
Subject: T&T: Safe Voyaging, Rio Dulce and simular, Cuba.

This is my year for a long voyage. Further than the AICW beyond the Bahamas-
Wintering here in Washington DC, Boat sitting in Baltimore until May-Wiill
do
the Great Loop and intend to skidattle from FLa. to other points after Nov.
1
2009.

Original plans were to cruise south reaching Trinidad/Venezuela by June 2010
to wait out the next hurricane season-or Rio Dulce Guatemala--or simular-

What I catch from the various computer nets is alot of DON"T COME
HERE--DANGER
DEATH reports, Its beyond the dingy theft warnings its more like 4 guys
boarding-people dying type of thing.

Presently, I am in the planning stages, and  really want to do the
Caribbean-but the thought of self defence as a boating skill-kinda sucks the
wind out of the "this is supposed to be fun" thing.

Alternativly, I do not seem to get the sense that Cuba is amoung those
problem
areas and that a circumnavigation Nov 2009 untill Spring 2010 would be safer
than continuing on towards Pirate world (I have had Pirate boadings in
Nassau).Is there some common trick like dual citizenship or reflagging the
boat that works best for Cuba

I am beginning to wonder about my goals and my wifes fondness for the
Chesepeake Bay as a forever Cruising ground (we are spoiled).

What are your thoughts on unsafe places and how to best avoid them--I feel
perfectly safe in the French canals-the AICW-the Loop-there are many places
to
go where saftey is not the main concern and several like Haiti that scream
warnings. Perhaps I need different dreams to avoid nightmares?

Kevin Kearney/JOLIE

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8:13 AM

Kevin, Regarding places to go and security, Venezuala is a country in stress at this time and I too would avoid it currently. But there are many other places in the Caribbean. Ryan put it all very well except I don't agree about guns on board. If you don't declare them you risk prison and having your vessel confiscated. If you declare them they take them until you leave so they don't help much, but again this is a personal choice each Captain must make. The only theft we experienced was in the US when our dinghy fuel tanks and lines were stolen in St. Augustine and the only place we felt threatened was when the security guard at the marina in West Palm Beach would not let us outside their gate for our own protection. The point being that the only place you will be absolutely certain you are safe is inside a cave with the entrance filled in. Don't let fear or rumors dissuade you from what just might be the most wonderful experience of your lifetime. That
is simply my opinion. Chuck

To follow our adventures, go to

http://trawler-beach-house.blogspot.com/

http://sea-trek.blogspot.com/