We rented a charter boat (saba 50 Fountain pajot) at Le Marin, Martinique on April 26 and set sail South to St Lucia than the Grenadines and Canouan.

When we were in Canouan, Charlestown Bay, we had an attempted break-inat around 03h15. A  man was trying to get in through a hatch using a towel he took from the railing. He was trying to force it open. The hatch had half of its lock closed only.

I woke up hearing some footsteps on deck, and silently assessed how many they were onboard. After seeing just one intruder, I took my headlamp and flashed him in the face while yelling loudly through the hatch (still half open) He never saw me coming. He was so concentrated with trying to get in, he never saw me at one foot from him until I scared him off. He scrambled off the boat, dived into the water and swam away. I made some noise with the horn to wake up the other 2 boats in the anchorage to let them know what had happened.

The police came over took a report but couldn’t find him. Since I only saw a shadow I could not describe the intruder to them. We left the next morning for Meyreau. I slept on the bridge for 2-3 nights afterward. It is disturbing to have to be on our guard all the time while on vacation, but in a sense, we can understand the locals. Seeing big boats that cost a fortune while they have problems to just survive sometimes. The officials should take notice as we are the only resources for some islands.

Jerome Leclerc