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IS IT SAFE THERE?
Are you in a safe anchorage anywhere on planet Earth? Has anything unpleasant happened lately? We'd like to hear, either way.

In these modern times, there are very few places left in the world where crime is non-existent. Whilst some feel that countries desirous of attracting yachting and other forms of tourism should take more steps to police their designated areas, others shrink from the idea of compounds and big brother. 

Many of us take precautions against becoming victims of crime, many do not. We are interested to know your views on the topic. 
How do you safeguard against becoming another unpleasant statistic if, indeed, you do so at all?

Whilst we do not want to add to the problems of authorities struggling to increase their nation's wealth, we do not want our fellow travelers, or ourselves come to that, to be exposed to risks which could be avoided. 

We are asking you to share with us your experiences both good and otherwise, wherever you have been, are now and arrive at henceforth.  We will publish details of places which receive sufficient good reports to warrant designating as 'safe' until further notice.

We will also publish verifiable reports of incidents occurring to members of the maritime community, which do not, necessarily condemn a place as unsafe - even in the quietest place there can be an occasional problem, this is called life. If one wants total security it can probably be obtained by staying at home in a fortified building - sailing is for those who are prepared to accept some degree of risk.

We will try to follow up on any incident and find out what the relevant authorities have seen fit to do about it, which should give us all some idea of how seriously they take their yachting market.
We can then, with your continuing help, monitor  situations and publish the good news or, if need be, the not so good news. If the authorities want their areas to appear on our 'safe ' places lists, they will know that they must ensure your safety. 

If there are problems, they must take matters in hand or face the resulting loss of visitors. 
Modern communications have their advantages for some and the reverse is also true.

We by no means expect this page to be a comprehensive guide to 'safe' places but any information which helps with cruise planning is better than no information . In general, good news travels fast but bad news travels faster. We can only promise to do the best we can with the information we receive.
You may be interested to read our 3-page Special Feature about a hi-jack attempt in Dominica in May 2000.

Admiralty Bay, Bequia - Stefan Arndt of the Etape 32, 'Miss Milla':
 
"This is one of my favourites. Here the cruisers tend to be much more sociable and I met various people who made my stay memorable. Wilfred and Nicola who are instrumental in the production of Compass magazine were delightful as were some of the people who charter their boats out, Australians David and Judy Ramage, aboard Metani, for example, who were enchanting. This is my favourite place for joining in with the genuine cruising community. 
The only thing I wasn't too keen on was the blatant difference between prices to locals and prices to visitors which is counterproductive.
I believe people would come in greater numbers and spend more money if it were not for the feeling that they are being fleeced, one which no local would enjoy if he were to be a visitor elsewhere."
We'll second that...

Cayman Brac -
We arrived in Cayman Brac after a bumpy overnight from Montego Bay on the 25th February (2000).
Owing to inadequate charts, on arrival discovered that the pass through the reef into the calm water inside only had 5 ft at high tide, so on advice from a dive boat skipper picked up one of the mooring buoys provided for them. 

We were allowed by Customs to stay on the buoy without landing ashore until 4 pm., but left earlier for another overnight to Georgetown, bypassing Little Cayman as can only clear in or out at the other 2 islands.
We are now on a buoy in beautifully clear water, surrounded by parrot fish, sea fans etc etc. Have already made friends with the skippers of two of the tourist subs who have promised us a trip.
We have discovered a good beach bar with a dinghy dock (Burger King also has one!). Going ashore soon to do some more exploring...

Greetings from Curaçao - Ian and Debi Wollen and Torpedo (the cat) on 'Lungta'

"This place must be one of the Caribbean's best kept secrets, a well protected large anchorage with 50+
yachts here and room for many more. The capital, Willemstad, is about 20 minutes away by bus and is a fine
mixture of Dutch and other buildings, very clean compared to other places we have visited.

Venezuela was interesting but we didn't see too much of it. We spent a week in Caracas where Debi had her
eyes LASIK'ed. She now has 20/20 vision and, of course, is very happy with the result. 
(Ed's note: A laser operation which quite a few yachting folk have chosen to have done, so far we have been quite impressed by what seem to be uniformly good reports although we have heard broadcasts inferring that all is not always so well and night vision, for example, can be permanently impaired - it is a matter for the exercise of some caution it would seem). 

The weather was pretty awful during our time in Venezuela and we were lucky to get back to Puerto La Cruz where we had left the boat before the airport was closed for days. Terrible floods along the coast and many thousands homeless.
The offshore islands and cays on the way would have been great except the weather continued very unsettled, so we did not stay long anywhere, in fact were glad to get here ( Curaçao ) where we found many old friends."

Dominica
Trinidad

Thanks to cruising friends and acquaintances for contributing our first few snippets... anyone else found anywhere good?... You may also like to read the Coastal Communities page. If you enjoy reading books on cruising and cruising guides, you will find reference to several in The Library - try Marine Bookshelves!