Questions and Answers - Q. - Are there pirates?

In the question and answer blogs we'll attempt to answer some of the questions we're often asked in the hopes they may offer some guidance to others who are considering cruising.

A. - Yes, I'm sorry to say, there are real pirates in the Caribbean.
While cruising, we heard horrific stories of Venezuelan pirates but also a first hand account of an attempted boarding off Puerto Rico's N/W coast.
News of pirate activities spreads by way of the daily VHF "cruiser's net" which is broadcast in several of the islands that are populated by larger "cruising" communities such as Trinidad, Grenada, Bequia, St. Lucia, Martinique and St. Martin.  Also there are web-sites that are constantly updated with information.....www.noonsite.com and www.safetyandsecuritynet.com and even on facebook (Grenada Cruiser's Net).
The free publication "Caribbean Compass" available at marinas and chandleries (also on-line) is also a good source of information.
When we arrived in the Caribbean in 2007 cruisers were split between spending hurricane season (July to November) in either Trinidad or Venezuela.  By the time we left in 2010 the Venezuelan pirates had been implicated in cruiser murders.  It was rumored they faced no repercussions.  News of them spreading into Trinidad waters had cruisers reluctant to make the 110 mile passage south to Trinidad and many now simply stay in Grenada through hurricane season.  Their plan being that should a hurricane threaten they will sail en masse to Trinidad to seek shelter.  Of note, hurricane "Ivan" devastated Grenada in 2004 and "Emily" hit 10 months later.
Our plan of defense was to avoid known pirate areas and keep a low profile. Our only weapon on-board was our flare gun. 
A "yachtie", which is the locals terminology for a white person travelling on a yacht, is always considered to be rich for indeed on many of the islands we are much wealthier than most of the locals and as such one must consider oneself to be a target.