# Bequia priracy three weeks ago



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Please note that our secured boat was forceably entered by thiefs when anchored in Admiralty Bay. A police report was filed but to date no recovery of stolen goods: cameras, cell phones, ipods, vhf radio and UW camera housing. 

Recommend additional precautions be taken. 

Oshunlvr


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## night0wl (Mar 20, 2006)

Reported this on noonsite? That tends to get the most traffic for cruisers looking for crime reports.


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## BlueWaterMD (Oct 19, 2006)

What a shame. Bequia has always been one of my favorite places. It is really too bad... the island is so small there is no doubt the locals all know who did it.


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

Not really Piracy..I know I know technicality..


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## gtod25 (Aug 5, 2000)

*Thank you Stillraining......*



Stillraining said:


> Not really Piracy..I know I know technicality..


While my absolute sympathy goes to the original poster this was "THEFT" with "Breaking and Entering". It does not rank with the taking of the Maersk Alabama and the kidnapping of its Captain. Lets keep in mind that we seriously affect the economy of these small islands when we blow some incidents out of proportion. Theft certainly pisses us cruisers off, especially when it involves our homes (i.e. boat) but its THEFT, pure and simple.

To give you a parallel, I work in a Miami West Marine. Today a Venezuelan customer had his car window smashed and his briefcase with cash and all his documents stolen, in broad daylight, in our parking lot. His comment was "I thought it would be safe in the US"! It was THEFT!

Lets get the information out, lets get the local authorities off their chairs but lets be very careful how we label these incidents.

Thanks for reading my rant

Gerry


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## Yorksailor (Oct 11, 2009)

We were in Bequia three weeks ago, will be back there in two weeks time and we live in Miami near the West Marine...Bequia is far safer. However, when thefts and attacks occour from boats cruisers avoid those anchorages and the local economy suffers.

Cruisers should take all precautions but the locals need to be proactive in protecting their income source. A recent robbery from a friend's boat in Grenada resulted in swift justice for the thieves and those that bought the stolen goods...which is why we spend months in Grenada and never visit St Vincent. If the water taxis and boat vendors in Bequia want to continue to make a good living they need to help prevent the thefts.

Bequia has the most professional Customs Officers in the Caribbean and I am sure that they will be taking this robbery very personally but unfortunately the police there have a very low profile.

Ochunlvr, could we have more deails please and do notify noonsite.

Phil


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## Jace2 (Oct 13, 2009)

gtod25 said:


> While my absolute sympathy goes to the original poster this was "THEFT" with "Breaking and Entering". It does not rank with the taking of the Maersk Alabama and the kidnapping of its Captain. Lets keep in mind that we seriously affect the economy of these small islands when we blow some incidents out of proportion. Theft certainly pisses us cruisers off, especially when it involves our homes (i.e. boat) but its THEFT, pure and simple.
> 
> To give you a parallel, I work in a Miami West Marine. Today a Venezuelan customer had his car window smashed and his briefcase with cash and all his documents stolen, in broad daylight, in our parking lot. His comment was "I thought it would be safe in the US"! It was THEFT!
> 
> ...


_Piracy:_ The practice of attacking and robbing ships at sea.

That's a definition from the dictionary.

Although there was apparently no ear rings, eye patches, or squawking parrots, I think "piracy" is appropriate.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Except this was theft/burglary...not robbery or attacking.


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## wind_magic (Jun 6, 2006)

From Wikipedia ...



> Maritime piracy, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982, consists of any criminal acts of violence, detention, or depredation committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or aircraft that is directed on the high seas against another ship, aircraft, or against persons or property on board a ship or aircraft. Piracy can also be committed against a ship, aircraft, persons, or property in a place outside the jurisdiction of any state, in fact piracy has been the first example of universal jurisdiction.


So it looks like part of the definition has less to do with whether violence or theft was involved and more to do with whether the act was committed by the crew or passengers of one vessel against another.

Edit, oh, and Oshunlvr, sorry to hear about you losing your stuff.  That is no fun.


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## Jace2 (Oct 13, 2009)

smackdaddy said:


> Except this was theft/burglary...not robbery or attacking.


It is my opinion that theft, whether by force or stealth, _IS_ an attack, in several ways. Here I submit just a few:

*It is an attack upon your livelihood. *
When a thief steals from you, he is committing an act of violence against your money. He is attacking your hard earned goods that your labor has paid for, raping your possessions, and ripping from you the rightful ownership of said goods.

*It is an attack upon your safety. *
When a criminal gains entrance to your home to steal from you, be it your boat, house, or other dwelling, he offends the implied 'No entry' rule you have established when locking down, or even just closing off, access to your place of residence. He has taken for himself the power of your vulnerability and weakness, whether you are asleep at the time or simply unprepared for his intrusion. He has breached your home, unannounced and unwelcomed, and set you at a disadvantage for defending yourself.

*It is an attack upon your dignity.*
When someone steals what you have worked for, they are making a statement about you. They are saying, You are there for my trampling and abuse, and that which you possess is mine to do with as I choose. They are relegating you to nothing more than chattel, there for the gluttonous consumptive target of their own appetites.

*And finally, it is an attack against God.*
He has set up certain moral and ethical structures, one of which is "Thou shalt not steal." The thief is saying to God, the all-powerful Creator of the universe, My rules supersede Yours, my desires override Your commandments. And, by implication, I am greater than You. This is the most heinous of all attacks.

There are more, I'm sure, but I was aiming for brevity.


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## wind_magic (Jun 6, 2006)

Jace2 said:


> It is my opinion that theft, whether by force or stealth, _IS_ an attack, in several ways.


Interesting post, Jace2, welcome to Sailnet. 

I agree, today property rights are not enforced as well as they once were, you see it everywhere - a liberal attitude towards taxes, leniency with regards to theft, etc. People seem to have forgotten that theft of property is not just stealing a "thing", but it is stealing a person's life, their time, because if they hadn't traded their time for that "thing" then they could have been out sailing, or spending time with their children, or whatever they wanted to do - that's what the thieves are often doing, watching television in their off time, or riding around in a stolen car, or whatever, just out enjoying themselves. When they steal from you they are saying their life is more valuable than your life, that they have the right to do whatever they want but it is your lot in life to work for them. The original poster now has a deficit, s/he obviously wanted to own the things that were stolen or they would not have been purchased, so you have to assume that the OP now has to go out and spend more time working to replace them - maybe the OP was planning to go cruising to exotic locations, now they have to put that off for days, weeks, months, until they can replace the gear they wanted to take with them, part of their life has been stolen from them. Someone who steals something knows that they could have worked for 3 months or however long to buy what they are stealing, but they don't want to, they'd rather you work those 3 months and buy it, then they can just take it from you and you've essentially done the work for them.


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## btrayfors (Aug 25, 2006)

Piracy is an act carried out *on the high seas*, not in a (very) popular and crowded anchorage in "paradise". That's just plain theft or robbery. Unfortunate, for sure, but it happens most everywhere on the planet.

Bequi remains my favorite harbour in the Windwards....by far.

Bill


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## Jace2 (Oct 13, 2009)

Very well said, wind. Yes, at one time, you were hanged for horse stealing. What's the penalty for auto theft, now? Wristslapping. And even if the thief is sent to jail, it has ceased to be punishment and has become a country club of sorts.


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## Jace2 (Oct 13, 2009)

btrayfors said:


> Piracy is an act carried out *on the high seas*, not in a (very) popular and crowded anchorage in "paradise". That's just plain theft or robbery. Unfortunate, for sure, but it happens most everywhere on the planet.
> 
> Bequi remains my favorite harbour in the Windwards....by far.
> 
> Bill


Not according to the dictionary. The location listed in my dictionary, OED I think, "The practice of attacking or robbing ships _*at sea*_", not only on the High Seas.

But whichever, it's a only a technical difference, I suppose.


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## tager (Nov 21, 2008)

It used to be that thieves got their hands chopped off. Of course we can't do that anymore because everyone in the entire field of finance would be typing with two stubs! While theft is never justified, white collar criminals are no better than those that steal off of an anchored boat. Structural violence preys on the disadvantaged, so be it if the disadvantaged prey on those who create said structure.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

jace - I was just referring to the legal definitions of the terms. In this case, what happened (as I read it) wouldn't qualify under the legal definition of piracy as you quoted it. It would be burglary or theft...not robbery or attack. Had the people been on the boat at the time - you could possibly make a case for piracy.

Regardless of the technicality, I understand what you're saying from a philosophical standpoint. It is an "attack" in many ways.


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## Jace2 (Oct 13, 2009)

tager said:


> It used to be that thieves got their hands chopped off. Of course we can't do that anymore because everyone in the entire field of finance would be typing with two stubs! While theft is never justified, white collar criminals are no better than those that steal off of an anchored boat. Structural violence preys on the disadvantaged, so be it if the disadvantaged prey on those who create said structure.


Thieves such as the ones that the original poster spoke of are not 'evening the score of class injustice.' They are not the "disadvantaged," They are not simply sad, lonely, hungry people that just haven't been given a break. They are low life scum bags that are stealing from good, honest, hardworking and very UN-rich people. That's all. If you steal billions from a giant pharmaceutical company, or you steal a twenty dollar camera, you're a thief. And should be punished.


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## Jace2 (Oct 13, 2009)

smackdaddy said:


> jace - I was just referring to the legal definitions of the terms. In this case, what happened (as I read it) wouldn't qualify under the legal definition of piracy as you quoted it. It would be burglary or theft...not robbery or attack. Had the people been on the boat at the time - you could possibly make a case for piracy.
> 
> Regardless of the technicality, I understand what you're saying from a philosophical standpoint. It is an "attack" in many ways.


Yeah, smack, we're on the same page.


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