For yachts seeking refuge in the hurricane season, Trinidad has been regarded as the most secure place in the southern Caribbean. The number of yachts laid up in the port of Chaguramas has risen each year. This summer there are about 4,000 and all the yards are packed to capacity, with no space for late arrivals.

Trinidad has hitherto been considered safe from piracy. All this has changed with the brutal attack on 16th August to the Norwegian yacht Vesla moored in the comparative safety of Chaguramas Bay. Three men armed with pistols and machetes boarded and assaulted the crew, stealing or smashing much of the equipment aboard. Crew member Paul Andersen commented “This shows it can happen to anyone. We are one of the smallest yachts in the anchorage.”

This is not an isolated incident. On 24th August around 300 yachtsmen and women in Chaguramas attended a meeting with diplomatic staff from the US Embassy, the UK High Commission, and several other countries, as well as representatives from the local boating industry, in an effort to get their concerns heard. Raymond Kane, US Regional Security Officer, said that Trinidad is in the grip of a crime wave.
Read more on this story in the November issue of Yachting Monthly.