There are more thefts in most interior places than along the waterways. That said we see hot spots of activity like we did in St Marten last June. I can't say if this activity has slowed down there or not. I can say it hasn't affected the boating activity there. We also have anchored in the spot referenced in the article many times without problems. Not to say that these two cases weren't real as they were. There are thousands of cruisers and bareboaters running up and down the Eastern Caribbean every day. 99% are anchored out every night. One would expect that the law of averages would apply to this group as well as any shore based group. The locals are robbed on shore just as the locals in Canada and the US are robbed at home. Dinghies/motors are stolen just as bikes/scooters/cars are. Armed robberies take place in all places too. When cruising one needs to take the same precautions you do at home. Don't flash stuff, this means on your person or the boat, and don't encourage locals to visit unless you know them. "Bling" is very attractive to all kinds of predators from the sea to land based ones. We are currently cruising in Venezuela and if we listened to various sources and rumors mills we'd be locked up in the marina as many people are. We choose not to live in fear which is not living at all, IMHO, and get out both on land and on the water and enjoy the country. Sure there are places we don't go and in some anchorages we are more alert than others. OTOH, 90% of the anchorages are much more relaxed. We just spent 6 nights in one where we were the only boat other than the local fisherman who fish all night. Are we taking a risk? Of course we are. Isn't life a risk? Of course it is. We prefer to see the out of the way places and have the isolation that comes from them. Herding or circling the wagons isn't one of our fortes. Dave & Nancy Swan Song Roughwater 58 Caribbean Cruise '08