GIGO - or not?
18 September 2012 | Mt Hartman Bay, Grenada
Lynn
A recent posting on both the Trinidad Cruisers FB group and the Grenada Cruisers Group has brought up an interesting topic... Websites dedicated to "Cruiser Safety". When we were getting ready to leave Toronto, a couple that had recently come back from cruising told us "don't listen to the 'scary net', or you won't go anywhere".
Theses websites have been designed to try to give cruisers the most information possible so that people can make an educated choice as to where they want to take their boat. It is a wonderful idea, but it isn't always completely accurate. The majority of websites rely on people reporting in about crimes against cruisers, a method of accumulating data that can be subject to opinion, incomplete information, and sometimes overreacting (or not enough reaction). Some of the sites then compile statistics from the reports, others do reports on it, while another uses that information in conjunction with socio-economic analyses of the islands to create their "index".
I applaud their efforts, I really do, however, I also feel that a large grain of salt must be taken along with the information. I will use Trinidad as an example, since that is the country that has a history. When we first came into the Caribbean, Trinidad had a bad reputation as a place to go if you didn't want to have your dinghy stolen. Dire warnings of dinghies taken right off the deck of a larger boat and other brazen behaviour by the crooks did not do a thing to help out the reputation of Chaguaramas. However, that was then, this is now. There hasn't been a dinghy theft reported in a while, and crimes against cruisers are quite low (possibleyeven non-existent for the most part). We have friends that absolutely love Trinidad, and from what we hear, there is much to love. Unfortunately for us, we rely on swimming off our boat, and that is not an option in the harbour there. We look forward to going there to get work done and enjoy the country, but not just yet. Crime is not a reason for us to stay away from there. However, if you check out the websites, you might be disinclined to go there. Yes, historically it was not a place to go, but things have changed a great deal in Trinidad.
Grenada is another example. There is a sense that everything is wonderful here, but then we had a run of dinghy thefts. "Oh no! Grenada is not longer safe!" Well, reading between the lines, many of the items stolen weren't locked. Well, gee, if you are going to make it easy for someone to steal your things, what do you expect? On the security websites, the crimes were reported.... however, the fact that locals tipped the Grenada Police and they found a number of the stolen outboards was never reported to the sites. Incomplete information.
St Vincent is often avoided because of the high incidence of crimes versus cruisers... however, as one person put it "they found the guy, so now that he's in jail, things are fine again" which really isn't that far from the truth. We know a number of cruisers who visited there this year and had a fantastic time with no problems... just not every bay is as secure as others.
The Facebook Cruiser groups are another source of info. At least people tend to pipe up with info as the groups are regularly visited, but they are still not definitive. There is no such thing as a definitive website that is going to give 100% accurate information, especially when cruisers with "iffy" internet connections or who feel it isn't important, or updates aren't given, or, or ,or. I think you get my point.
The websites aren't a bad way to get an idea of the history of a place, but they don't always reflect the present. We know people who were boarded (and in at least one instance, assaulted) in places previously described as "safe". One website describes another anchorage on another island as secure, but they had a huge amount of outboards and dinghies stolen there this year, plus boardings, assaults and at least one murder. Crime is a dynamic thing, especially when you look at the relatively small populations of the islands in the Eastern Caribbean. There is also a huge difference, in my opinion, on theft versus assaults - I'd prefer my dinghy be stolen over getting beaten any day. It pays to ask around. Thoughts on security and safety are kind of like opinions on whether a place is nice or not... it depends on your experiences there and your expectations. If you don't mind locking your dinghy and taking a few basic precautions, then you will have a different perspective than someone who resents having to lock their dinghy.