Robberies in the Seychelles.
25 July 2015 | Anse A La Mouche, Seychelles
Bill/ Partly sunny
I guess I should have titled yesterdays post as "Robbery in Seychelles". At least more people would have read it and that's one of the points of doing a blog. Getting people to see what it's like out here. It's not all parties and drinking. It's a lot of hard work(sometimes) with a good bit of socializing all the while being vigilant about what is going on around you. There is quite the network of cruisers out here and most are "tapped in" on what is happening all over the world.
The robberies/burglaries started several weeks ago when someone(yet to be determined) swam out to a catamaran anchored in the Seychelles Yacht Club basin. Not much detail is available as the boat has moved on. The second instance happened when someone swam out to another catamaran, again anchored in the basin and backpacks were riffled that were in the cockpit and what could be found inside the main cabin. Not a lot was taken(change purse and an old "smart phone". The thief then took the dinghy from that boat and headed for another catamaran again anchored in the basin. This time, a tablet and a few other pieces of electronic gear was taken. The dinghy was found the next day, tied up where it didn't belong but was returned to it's owner by a local who then called the police. The officers arrived and took statements and fingerprinted all aboard. There was a marked increase in boat patrols in the basin but we have only seen them there during the daytime(hey, we sleep at night just like everyone else). Security has been stepped up by everyone that is anchored with everyone now pulling their dinghies on board and most removing anything of value from their cockpits and decks.
This last robbery occurred just a few nights ago to a boat that was anchored farther down the coast(about a mile), just off the Eden Island Marina. Again, a catamaran was boarded and the thieves entered through a hatch on deck coming face to face with the owners. A fight ensured with the owners firing off a flare gun to try and scare them off. It didn't work and they didn't take off till the owner pulled out a machete. The thieves had been trying to take the dinghy to get back to shore but when someone comes at you with a big knife, even they took off in the water swimming to shore. During the fight, the wife sustained a head injury reputed to be from hitting a winch but I have no confirmation of that. The police were called and showed up in the afternoon taking statements and filing reports. So far, no one has been caught and there is probably little chance of that. The unfortunate thing is that this is the first year that cruisers have actively returned to coming to the Seychelles since the pirates started capturing boats several years ago. There hasn't been a reported piracy claim (that I know of) in about two years. Now, we may not have any reason to fear the pirates but we sure do thieves. With four robberies in less than a month, this will probably stop many boats from coming here next year. About 15 cruisers have shown up so far and that a huge increase from the last few years. A shame if that all stops because the Seychelles is a beautiful place to visit and cruise with lovely sand beaches and friendly people. Let's hope the Police or Coast Guard catch those responsible. We stayed just one night in the Yacht Club basin and that was with everything either chained down or removed and the doors and hatches all locked. It's the first ime since we left the US that we have felt the need to do this.
On a lighter note, Tracy finished the laundry while I removed the old caulk from our dodger and got it prepped for new. The last was pretty well shot and needed replacing. I brewed up another batch of my barbecue sauce and we had a great lunch of pork spare ribs with corn and apple sauce. An great way to enjoy the day. Tomorrow, a few more small projects are on the list.