Boat Attacked in St. Croix Waters; Sailor Seriously Injured

They didn't have time to look at the video? WTH!!!!

Is there no where around St. Croix that's safe?

Just some mariner that got shot and robbed at sea - certainly no big deal to the VIPD or Coast Guard. Another incident of crime that almost slipped by unnoticed and unreported.

Now the poor guy will be stuck with a huge storage bill too. I know they are back in France, but If anyone is organizing help for this guy on STX I'll volunteer to assist in sailing the boat to Guadalupe.

i never would have thought that would happen here.

I was at sea once and a goblin riding a unicorn came aboard my boat and demanded my skittles. I told this story to the police... This whole story sounds fishy at best.

I was at sea once and a goblin riding a unicorn came aboard my boat and demanded my skittles. I told this story to the police... This whole story sounds fishy at best.

And how many gunshot wounds did you suffer at the hands of the goblin?

This was a first hand report on the Caribbean Safety & Security Net.
https://www.safetyandsecuritynet.com/3560-2/

The fishy thing is why the VIPD didn't seem to be bothered to investigate it.

There are many ways people can sustain gunshot wounds. A tall tale just being one of them

There's little point in bickering over this and speculating when obviously the investigation is unfinished and many questions still remain unanswered.

I was at sea once and a goblin riding a unicorn came aboard my boat and demanded my skittles. I told this story to the police... This whole story sounds fishy at best.

You would not be so ridiculing had this happened to you or a loved one.
Posting snarky comments helps no one and makes you look small.

I have to agree with Sparty that this story sounds a bit fishy. I really hate to be skeptical and sincerely hope that Mr Briffa makes a full recovery and they catch the perpetrators if this is in fact really what happened but soon as I read the article it reminded me of an incident that happened 2 years ago at home in MD. A kayaker was shot while stargazing and said he drifted his way back to shore. He had quite a compelling story about seeing a red reflection on him then feeling the pain. Authorities even said they didn't think it was self inflicted. Eventually it came out that the guy was lying and had shot himself.

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/kayaker-shot-in-pasadena/25457824
http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2014/06/09/dnr-police-pasadena-kayaker-lied-he-actually-shot-himself-in-suicide-attempt/

Let's see.
This guy is 70 years old. He is French sailing from Bahamas to Guadelupe where fire arm possession is illegal.
How likely it is that he is a drug runner and uses sailboat to move his cargo? Why is he moving alleged drugs away from US?
How likely it is that he has firearm onboard?
If indeed he has a firearm on board why would he self inflict GSW to his femur by accident or on purpose?

Perhaps he is an international arms dealer traveling incognito and that is why VIPD dropped the ball, USCG denies involvement and he is now interrogated by NSA in Area 51.

But now trying to be serious for a moment here I would venture to say that VIPD just doesn't give a shit about the incident as this guy is a foreigner, doesn't speak English and has no local family to nag them. There is also little to investigate and no reward in finding what really happened. Nearest USCG command center is in PR. They have very little local presence in VI. In STT they keep two small speed boats that do not patrol local waters. The US boarder really starts in PR and VI is just a Tijuana.

The website safetyandsecuritynet.com is a volunteer, free service for boaters. It is not a fact-checked news source.

The VIPD and the Coast Guard are better sources for known facts.

As for my opinion ....

A single-handed sailor in the Caribbean would have some type of gun on board. I can't imagine that passage without some type of backup plan.

Also, note a single-handed sailor has a fool for a crew.

I was at sea once and a goblin riding a unicorn came aboard my boat and demanded my skittles. I told this story to the police... This whole story sounds fishy at best.

You would not be so ridiculing had this happened to you or a loved one.
Posting snarky comments helps no one and makes you look small.

I would offer you some skittles as a peace offering but that dang goblin, plus I think you need a Snickers more.

Yeah, heaven forbid, I take at face value a sketchy story without waiting for any corroborating evidence. Silly me.

I was at sea once and a goblin riding a unicorn came aboard my boat and demanded my skittles. I told this story to the police... This whole story sounds fishy at best.

You would not be so ridiculing had this happened to you or a loved one.
Posting snarky comments helps no one and makes you look small.

I would offer you some skittles as a peace offering but that dang goblin, plus I think you need a Snickers more.

Yeah, heaven forbid, I take at face value a sketchy story without waiting for any corroborating evidence. Silly me.

So Cruel you are Sparty!!!! I know for a FACT this is happened, dealt personally with the wife who was extremely distraught from the whole ordeal. Hang your head in shame & pray for this couple!!!!!
Geeze hope you and your family never experience anything like this and you're called a liar for telling the story..........
I can NOT divulge any additional info bound to a confidentiality clause...........but SHAME on you Sparty SHAME on YOU!!!!!

Only about 20% full time cruisers carry fire arms on board. Carrying a gun is nuisance because it has to be declared, gets deposited with local authorities, than needs to be retrieved.
Not complying with the local laws can be costly. My son was arrested in Germany for possession of one round of amo. It was in his wallet. It was a memorabilia from Afganistan campaign. He was charged under Antiterrorism statue.

Effective range of a hand gun in a high sees is probably 10-15 feet. If one uses that handgun unsuccessfully chances are he/she be killed in retaliation. Personally, I would rather give up my gps or camera than get into a gun fight with pirates.

I was at sea once and a goblin riding a unicorn came aboard my boat and demanded my skittles. I told this story to the police... This whole story sounds fishy at best.

You would not be so ridiculing had this happened to you or a loved one.
Posting snarky comments helps no one and makes you look small.

I would offer you some skittles as a peace offering but that dang goblin, plus I think you need a Snickers more.

Yeah, heaven forbid, I take at face value a sketchy story without waiting for any corroborating evidence. Silly me.

So Cruel you are Sparty!!!! I know for a FACT this is happened, dealt personally with the wife who was extremely distraught from the whole ordeal. Hang your head in shame & pray for this couple!!!!!
Geeze hope you and your family never experience anything like this and you're called a liar for telling the story..........
I can NOT divulge any additional info bound to a confidentiality clause...........but SHAME on you Sparty SHAME on YOU!!!!!

I never said it didn't happen. Where did I? Go ahead and look. I said the story sounded fishy. So grab yourself a snickers too. Shame on me. shame on me.

I was at sea once and a goblin riding a unicorn came aboard my boat and demanded my skittles. I told this story to the police... This whole story sounds fishy at best.

Yep looked over your response..........SNARKY per usual and numbly cruel!

You know for a FACT this happened how btw? Were you there? Did you see a video? Or are you relying on a story that the rest of us heard? I don't know things for FACTS until I know all the facts. That was my point. Getting shot is no fun. I've been accidentally shot. This story is better suited for tabloid media until more FACTS are known

Only about 20% full time cruisers carry fire arms on board.

How do you know this?

 

Life long sailor. Know many full time cruisers. Follow the periodicals. This has been published in Blue Water Sailing IIRC. STT is my sailing base for Carrib.

I did a little internet searching on the French sailor. He has worldwide cruising experience and, if it's the same person, participated in the Vasco da Gama 2010 Rally sailing through the Middle East, through the Suez, past Somalia and on to India.

If he's still on the same boat (Mailys), bet he had some form of personal protection onboard.

Despite experience, he still should not be single-handing a boat on a passage like described. That's asking for trouble of many sorts at any age.

Dude you are a dim one yes..........Did you not read my post,

FACT met wife & later the injured husband of said boat

FACT was involved heavily in the matter, but due to confidentially clauses in my contract I can NOT give out the fine details

FACT I stand by my comment you are a shameful cruel person!!!

This my last response to you Sparty as you are incapable of being human...................

Very few boats over the decades that I've sailed either as crew or captain had firearms aboard.

Oh for goodness' sakes. islandthyme, get off the soap box, control yourself and stop reacting so hysterically - and rudely.