Yet Another Fatal Attack On Yacht In Venezuela

Created by doina. Last modified on 2007-04-09 10:01:24
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Topic: Piracy Reports 2004

There have been several reports of piracy involving yachts on the Venezuelan coast in 2004, but the following has been the most serious. The captain of the French yacht "Les Chouans" was found shot dead on his yacht, apparently coming out of the cabin. The singlehander was anchored for several days at Ensenada Medina, Venezuela, in company with another French boat. The second yacht left for Grenada early on June 17, with Les Chouans intending to leave soon after for Los Testigos. The two yachts had VHF contact about 9 a.m. After several days of no contact, the Venezuelan Coast Guard found Les Chouans in a small cove apparently adrift, i.e. the anchor was on deck, the engine was not running, and the sails were furled. The captain was found with a gunshot to the head, and numerous valuables were discovered missing.

The second boat was contacted via the Security Net and the French Net, and is returning to their home port in Martinique to assist French authorities, who are cooperating with the Venezuelan authorities in the investigation.

The French net operates at 09.00am SSB 6945. The Caribbean Safety and Security Net: SSB 8104.0 at 1215 UTC, Melodye Pompa on "Second Millennium" is Primary Net Controller. Caribbean Cruising Association publishes detailed lists of all attacks on yachts in their region www.safetyandsecuritynet.com/