Incident Date: 2023-07-23 at 02:00
Event Type: Theft
Stolen Items: Cash and cigarettes
Secured: Not Locked
Source Type: 2nd Hand Report
Incident Details: Victim boat #2, see 3060
Incident Date: 2023-06-13 at 00:05
Event Type: Assault
Stolen Items: Cash, tablet, phone, VHF radios, all clothing and food, chartplotter and GPS, epoxy resin and hardener, earphones, backpack, dinghy and 9.8HP Tohastu
Secured: Not Locked
Source Type: 1st Hand Report
Incident Details: UPDATED REPORT : The victim has provided additional detail. This report replaces the original secondhand report previously published.||A singlehander anchored in Anse Canaries between 1700-1800HRS, there were no other yachts in the anchorage. He was awakened with a machete to his throat just after midnight. Three(3) young men had arrived by kayak and boarded the unlocked yacht. The captain complied with their demands, was threatened with death and then tied up by one of the 2 masked men. Over the course of 2 hours the men stole cash, electronics, all food and clothing and then departed in the yachts dinghy with the kayak in tow. The captain sustained minor injuries but was able to untie himself. ||The thieves had left behind the trackable Garmin In-Reach which the captain used to contact and inform family members, who then contacted Interpol who then engaged the local St. Lucia marine police. The yacht departed immediately but was met many miles offshore sometime later by the marine police. A verbal report was made and the yacht continued to its next port. A full report was made with local officials on arrival and St. Lucian officials later that day. St. Lucian officials reported that they had recovered the dinghy/outboard ashore. An investigation was opened by St. Lucia police, and efforts are underway to get the dinghy/outboard back to the owner. || CSSN will update this report if authorities make progress with arrest/prosecution. ||NOTE: This is not the first recent instance of armed robbery in this bay, or nearby in the Soufriere/Pitons area. No arrests have been made in any of the earlier cases. Utilize the CSSN archives and Zoom-Tap maps for 2022 to easily review those 5 incidents.
Incident Date: 2023-02-06 at 15:00
Event Type: Vandalism
Stolen Items: boat hook destroyed
Secured: N/A
Source Type: 1st Hand Report
Incident Details: A cruising yacht approached the SMMA moorings between the Pitons intending to practice mooring pickup and self-moor. They were intercepted by aggressive boat boys who demanded excessive payment for unwanted services, which were declined. When the yacht attempted to pickup the mooring their boat hook became entangled in the lines which had been tied off underwater. The boat boys immediately retrieved the boat hook and then maliciously bent it, making it unusable. The boat boys were paid a fee in excess of the customary $20ECD recommended by the SMMA park rangers, and they hung at the boat in a menacing manner demanding additional payment for sometime before departing.
Incident Date: 2023-02-06 at 05:00
Event Type: Theft
Stolen Items: Outboard
Secured: Locked
Source Type: 2nd Hand Report
Incident Details: Yacht owners awoke to find that their outboard engine that was locked to the stern pulpit had been stolen overnight. The dinghy which was left afloat and not locked was not taken. No police report was made and they left the next day.
Incident Date: 2022-12-18 at 03:00
Event Type: Assault
Stolen Items: Mobile phones (other : unknown, to be updated)
Secured: N/A
Source Type: 2nd Hand Report
Incident Details: PRELIMINARY REPORT : At 0300HRS a charter catamaran on a SMMA park mooring at Pitons was boarded by six(6) men armed with machetes and robbed of cellphones , plus other items tbd. It is not known if there were any injuries. A report was made to the SMMA park rangers. Further details expected when the charter returns to its base on Monday, 19 December.||CSSN UPDATE : 19 December – The charter company has refused to provide any details or contact information for the victims. If you are a victim, please complete the CSSN online incident report so that others can understand the facts about what did/did not occur. ||This is the 5th reported violent incident in the Soufriere/Pitons area in the last 5 months, see CSSN incidents 2894, 2897, 2876 and 2848. ||Patrols are reported to have been recently put in place, but were clearly not an effective deterrent in this latest case.
Incident Date: 2022-12-06 at 04:00
Event Type: Theft
Stolen Items: Electronics, cameras
Secured: Not Locked
Source Type: 2nd Hand Report
Incident Details: A yacht moored at the Pitons was boarded overnight while the owner slept onboard. He noticed the floor was wet when he awoke the next morning and found that electronics and a camera had been stolen. He departed shortly thereafter and did not make any reports. ||CSSN NOTE: This report was received in March 2024, more than one year after the incident occurred. It has been added to the database/maps but no CSSN ALERT! was published, and it is not included in the 2022 Annual Report.
Incident Date: 2022-10-16 at 01:00
Event Type: Attempted Robbery
Stolen Items: None
Secured: Does not apply
Source Type: 1st Hand Report
Incident Details: A cruising yacht with 2 persons onboard anchored for the night at Anse Canaries. No other cruising yachts were nearby. At 0100HRS they were awoken by noise and the captain went topsides and found 1 of 2 men on a kayak had boarded. The captain pushed the man into the water. The 2 men threatened the captain/crew by sharing their intention to return with a gun and kill them, and then departed.||The police were called, and the marine police arrived in less than 1 hour to take a report.||CSSN NOTE: An assault/armed robbery occurred in this anchorage in July 2022 as follows:||• DATE: 2022-07-08 20:00|LOCATION: Saint Lucia – Anse Canaries|EVENT: Robbery|HAND: 1|STOLEN ITEMS: Cash and personal electronics – tablet, cell phone|SECURED: Does not apply|DETAILS: At about 2000HRS two men armed with hand guns boarded a catamaran that had stopped for safe harbor overnight in the north end of Canaries Bay, St. Lucia, while on passage from Martinique to St Vincent. They held the singlehanding owner/captain at gunpoint in the salon and demanded cash and electronics that were readily surrendered. A demand for the “big money” was made but there was no large stash to surrender. After about 45 minutes the 2 left with what was assumed to be a third man who had remained in their boat. There were no injuries to the captain or damage to the yacht. The yacht departed at first light, no police report was made.|ID: 2848||And 2 assaults in nearby Soufriere in August 2022 , see 2876, and again in October 2022, see 2894
Incident Date: 2022-10-06 at 00:30
Event Type: Assault
Stolen Items: phone, tablet computer and clothing
Secured: Not Locked
Source Type: 1st Hand Report
Incident Details: A cruising couple on their yacht on an SMMA mooring were awoken and boarded at 0030HRS by 4 masked/hooded men with knives and machetes. The thieves stole electronics (phone,tablet,computer) and personal items (clothing). The crew was not injured. A police report was made, no forensics were taken.||CSSN NOTE: approximately one month ago a similar incident was reported at this location, see 2876 .
Incident Date: 2022-09-23 at 03:00
Event Type: Theft
Stolen Items: Cash, iPad, kitchen knife
Secured: Not Locked
Source Type: 2nd Hand Report
Incident Details: The crew of a yacht anchored near Gros Islet woke to find they had been boarded overnight. The thief stole cash, an iPad and a kitchen knife. They left their own knife behind. No police report was made.
Incident Date: 2022-08-26 at 02:15
Event Type: Assault
Stolen Items: A small amount of cash
Secured: Not Locked
Source Type: 1st Hand Report
Incident Details: At 0215HRS a yacht on an SMMA mooring for its 3rd night was boarded by armed thieves. One of the assailants came thru an open hatch and then entered the salon where a female crew member was awake, and she began yelling. He attempted to silence her with a hand over her mouth and attempted to stuff a rag in her mouth and then began choking her, as she continued to struggle and yelled. A second crew member (male) awoke and it became violent and louder as many blows were exchanged. A second assailant entered thru the companionway and began assaulting the crew as well. The activity woke a third male crew member who came from the V berth, with crew now outnumbering the intruders 3 to 2. At this point the intruders jumped overboard and swam toward shore. || A knife that belonged to one of the intruders was found on the salon floor. The crew was well bloodied, and the intruders left behind significant blood as well. The crew chose to treat their own injuries. A small amount of cash had been taken, and the cover on the cockpit chart plotter had been removed. ||Reports were made to the police, Coast Guard and SMMA authorities. No forensics were taken.
