Safety of Sailing

Hello guys and gurus alike! I was wondering if I may ask a few ?'s about sailing. I am new to the sport and my wife and I are thinking of buying a 43' catamaran. I know some of the ?'s I may ask may sound dumb to most, but truely I am a newbie here so bare with me ok!!!!
I was told that it was dangerous to sail in the caribbean because the people will stop at nothing to rob you. Are there any truth in this? I would love to just go on a sailboat, but I am scared to bring my wife and family with me if this type of violence exists. Has anyone ever had problems with this? Also say someone starts to approach your boat, what can be done? I dunno about carrying firearms, but any advice will be greatly appreciated!!!!!

Id say this is a myth...sure there are pirates out there, and you HAVE to keep your eyes open, but I bet theres as much violence here as anywhere else.
I havent been crewing on the 36' Mono for long, but so far I havent heard anything of the sort, id say this is a pretty friendly sailboat area....altho be sure to always have maps, Sea Tows make a fortune here

shoot me a pm if you want more info.

hey again! Glad to hear that this is somewhat a myth. People have said that people get killed and there boat stolen etc.... I heard a story where a guy pulled into a cove and had his boat stolen from him, but dunno about that. I just don't want to get my wife killed over a sport that I love! Do you know the laws on packing weapons? Also any tips on where to start planning such a voyage?

I think most piracy is around places like Indonesia, Africa, India and some in South America. Check out the following links.

http://www.cindyvallar.com/piratelinks.html#Modern

Here is a weekly piracy report...

http://www.iccwbo.org/ccs/imb_piracy/weekly_piracy_report.asp

Kim

Check with www.gulfstreamsailingclub.org

They are a local sailing club based in Ft.Lauderdale. They do a lot of crossings to the Bahamas and sailing throughout the Caribbean. They will surely have some info on the safety of sailing in these areas.

Secure-Ship

Secure-Ship is the most recent and effective innovation in the fight against piracy. It is a non-lethal, electrifying fence surrounding the whole ship, which has been specially adapted for maritime use. The fence uses 9,000-volt pulse to deter boarding attempts. An intruder coming in contact with the fence will receive an unpleasant non-lethal shock that will result in the intruder abandoning the attempted boarding. At the same time an alarm will go off, activating floodlights and a very loud siren. The IMB strongly recommends ship owners to install this device on board their ships. Further details can be obtained at Secure Marine

Just dont get up to pee at night and forget this thing is on!

Dave Mosley

First, what part of the Caribean would you sail? It's awful big and there are going to be variations of danger. I sailed Puerto Rico, USVIs and BVIs for 5 weeks earlier this year. You spend most of your time dodging other boats and land. Felt very safe on the boat. Wondered more if we would get robbed on one of the islands.

Sailing out of Culebra before dawn, we had a 20+ foot powerboat come within a rocks throw. And with no lights. It was either policia or fishermen. And they dissappeared as fast as they appeared.

We discussed what would happen if we were boarded. And the owner said they could take what they want. Well, maybe not the beer....

Handguns are illegal in the BVIs. Sure hate to get thrown in jail in paradise.

John