from www.noonsite.com - this event happened March 2003

We bought MALAIKA, in Simonstown, Cape Town 5 years ago. The dream is
to sail the 7 seas, following the tradewinds on our 1st
circumnavigation. We left SOUTH AFRICA 4 years ago, doing the usual,
ST HELENA, ASCENSION, FERNADO NORONHA, FORTELEAZA crossing.

On route to TRINIDAD / TOBAGO we stopped over at DEVILS ISLAND, and
stayed for 4 months on the main land, Kourou FRENCH GUIANA. We sailed
up the island chain visiting CARRIACOU, PETIT MARTINIQUE, PETIT ST
VINCENT , UNION, TOBAGO CAYS, CANNOUAN, MUSTIQUE, BEQUIA, ST VINCENT,
ST LUCIA, MARTINIQUE, DOMINICIA, GUADELOUPE, MONSERRAT, ANTIGUA,
NEVIS, ST KITTS to ST MAARTIN, come April the mass evacuation north or
south, to be out of the hurricane belt by the official start of the
season in June.

We hauled Malaika in Trinidad and then left for PANAMA via the
VENEZUELAN ISLANDS, TESTIGOS, MARGARITA, TORTUGA, LOS ROQUES, DE AVES,
onto the ABC. BONAIRE, CURACAO, and ARUBA.

The depth of sadness experienced when leaving a place varies according
to the friendships acquired, and so it was with sad hearts that we
said goodbye to ARUBA and once again set sail for PANAMA via
CARTAGENA. (a world heritage city).

Seventy two hours on passage a medical emergency ensured a stop over
at Pt Morro Hermosa, Puerto Velero, Baranquilla, COLOMBIA.

March 27, my brothers birthday, just after midnight, I was wakened by
the sound of a boats wake hitting our steel hull, they had cut the
motor earlier.

They here! I woke Chris,

Whos here? He asked,

The freaking welcoming party, I shouted.

He jumped up to close the hatch, and saw the first of 6 men armed with
guns and knives board our vessel.

That night I knew, instinctively, like I now know factually, that all
was not well. I insisted that we lock the companionway, which can only
be locked from outside, with a padlock, and so Chris climbed into the
cabin through the hatch, which is left ajar, but secured.

Both hatches have bullet proof glass portholes, and so we could see
them trying to smash the glass with the backs of their guns. They did
not bring tools with them, they expected the companionway to be open.
We are the fourth vessel to be attacked in the same anchorage, in as
many months.

They only had a little flashlight, and kept telling us to put the
lights on. After ransacking the cockpit, they found a small brass
porthole and a dive weight and tried unsuccessfully to break the lock
open.

By this time I was calling non-stop on the VHF ch 16 and SSB ch 2182,
MAYDAY, MAYDAY.

Using the dive weight as a hammer on the back of the knife, they
started chopping around the lock. The wood is teak and hard, and it
took them over 1 hour to gain entry. I called for help on the radios
for the entire duration, I was answered by the Colombian Coast Guard,
who asked me to confirm my position as Pt Hermosa, Puerto Velero.
Never to be heard from again, or ever seen.

The guys outside were getting frustrated, and so two a side they tried
to lift the hatch up to open it, with enough prying they managed to
lift it slightly, with that Chris was able to deploy a can of
professional mace into 3 faces, he continued to hang on the inside of
the hatch holding it down and they were never able to work out that
the hatch slides back to open, not up. And that is what saved us. Once
the lock was free they were able to pull out the first and second
splash boards, the third always sticks. With the hatch closed overhead
the entry was small and required crawling. It was safer for them to
call us out one at a time, rather than them come inside, as they did
not know what else we had to arm ourselves with.

When it became evident that they were going to gain entry, the panic
that had seized us earlier, evaporated. A calm overcame us and
everything slowed down, it felt like my ears were blocked and my
thoughts echoed in my head. I thought, we could die tonight, but
that’s o.k. I have had an excellent innings and this is as good a time
as any…. With that Chris took my hand and said, When the door opens we
get out!!!! And you get into the water, asap. Don’t stop to chat,
straight in the water, and I will follow.

They called us out, and Chris went first, 3 grabbed him, and they
struggled around the table. Chris was able to manouver himself to the
back of the boat against the rail, the cockpit well is large and open,
so only one guy had space to tie him up. He attempted to tie Chris's
hands together in front of him, Chris kept moving and he was not able
to tie a knot. They called for me, and I crawled out, still crouched
down in front of the hatch, one guy took my arm.

One last look at Chris and I swung my elbow back as hard as I could
and felt the crunch when I connected the gent holding my arm. He will
not multiply anymore. In one motion I was able to pull myself forward
into a dive, off the side of the boat. Hands brushed me in an attempt
to catch me, but I was already in the water. Chris using the
distraction opened his hands and shoved the guy back into the well,
hitting his head. Chris back-flipped into the water and dove down as
deep as possible, I heard the splash behind me so turned around to see
who was going to pop up. Chris did, right next to me, “Swim woman what
are you waiting for” It was dark moon that night, and we could not see
their boat, thinking that it was tied up to our boat, and it would be
only minutes before they come for us. We swam for our lives. Once we
were shallow enough to walk, I discovered that my little toe was
broken, and Chris dragged me on. The beach run to the cell phone was
exhausting and in the dark we ran past Gustavo's house, ending up with
some other fishermen, who sent a runner to Gustavo to phone the
police. They arrived 2 hours later, in that time we heard, what we now
know to be a large RED WOODEN FISHING BOAT return to fetch the 6
bandits and all our belongings. The fishing boat collided with MALAIKA
hitting 1.5m above the waterline, bending the bull bar and stantions
on the starboard side, leaving red paint and wood chips behind.

03h00 we returned to MALAIKA with 2 policemen, the other 8 stayed on
the beach. We were given 10 minutes to assess the damage, and then
against our will, we had to leave MALAIKA, to go and make a DENUNCIO,
statement at the Baranquilla police station. 03h30 we left for the
station. No one spoke English and so our statement was made in limited
Spanish, and many hand gestures.

06h00 we once again returned, this time to discover the actual
magnitude of our loss. Our passports, boat papers. All our navigation
equipment, dinghy & 2 outboards, 8 kites, and 2 sewing machines (for
sail and kite repairs) been the biggest loss. Without passports we
can't leave, and without kites we can't make money to replace our
uninsured items.

10h00, we saw a large police presence on the beach, Chris swam ashore
to speak to the police, red paint, wood chips, balaclava, knife
and pair of sandals found on MALAIKA.

Edgar, the owner of windsurfing school, arrived and knowing that we
were unable to leave without a GPS offered to take us to Baranquilla.
We left Edgars cell no with the lieutenant on the motorbike, as a
contact no, gave him the above mentioned items and headed to the city,
in search of a GPS.

Edgar was tremendous, in 8hrs, we managed to do the impossible, change
travelers cheques without passports, buy a GPS, and establish that the
one and only red wooden fishing boat has a permanent mooring at Las
Florres. An old man on the jetty told us that it left for a fishing
trip last night and has not yet returned. One last stop, before we can
leave….The coast guard office. To inquire as to why no reaction from
them, after their initial response on the SSB. And to purchase a chart
of Cartagena, as all our charts, over 500, were taken as well. Zero
help, Zero sympathy, in fact one woman in the office called us
GRINGOS, turned her back and slammed the door. So we left without an
answer and without a chart.

18h00 March 27, we returned from Baranquilla with newly acquired GPS
ready to set sail for Cartagena, only to discover the Major and 2
other policemen sitting in the cockpit, having boarded without
permission. The major claimed that they had already arrested 4 men, he
brought out a digital camera and asked us to identify them. 2 could
have possibly been suspects, but it was very difficult to say from a
photo. He proceeded to take photos of us and our vessel. When we
requested to leave we were told we would hamper the investigation. I
expressed my fears about being on anchor for one more night, and was
assured by the MAJOR that he would place an armed guard on the boat
with us for the night. Three other policemen and the dog arrived. The
major made 2 more phone calls with that 4 more policemen with tools
boarded MALAIKA. Our vessel was subjected to a 5 hour strip and
search, under false pretenses. We assisted the police in every way
possible, Chris helped the 2 guys inside, he elected to drill for
them, and to strip what could come loose. I entertained the rest
outside, serving bottomless cups of coffee, and telling sailing
stories, one of the police could speak a bit of English, and was
constantly asked to translate, especially the punch lines. I had them
rolling around in laughter, except the major. One by one his officers
reported to him, No my major, there are no drugs on this boat. By now
the MAJORS intentions were very clear to us and I pointed out to him
that if we were traffickers, we would have perhaps painted our boat
navy gray, and not PURPLE, and that we would have owned a gun, with
which we would have shot the bandits ourselves, or better still, as
one of his own officers pointed out that I have a beautiful collection
of Aloe Vera, Rosemary and Basil, She’s growing her own herbs my
major, this is not a trafficking boat.

The fear of him planting something on our boat was very real. He had
put a lot of effort into finding drugs on our boat and we didn’t know
how he would handle the disappointment. That fear had an odour, and I
broke out in a cold sweat. At 23h30, the major stood up and
said,”VAMOS” LETS GO!! So this is how he is going to handle the
disappointment, he is going to abandon us. I begged him to keep his
word, and leave a guard with us. He laughed and said that we are safe,
as we have nothing left to steal. He told us not to leave as an
officer would return for Chris in the morning, to identify suspects.
So he left us in the dark. With no dinghy, no radios, and no way of
locking the hatch. A new fear, one that completely dispels any fatigue
I was feeling for lack of sleep in the last 50 hours, takes over. My
eyelids would not close, even afraid to blink, in case they never
opened again.

08h00 March 28, a policemen returned for Chris but he was not able to
identify anyone. 14h00 we left for Cartagena. We found a safe haven in
Club Nautico, with Chandelaria giving us free mooring, food and a
sympathic ear. Thank you seems so inadequate.

The fight goes on, now it is the bureaucratic, red tape, war. 10 Days
in Cartegena and we were not able to elicit a response from anyone,
police, coast guard, port captain, even wrote to the President.

The facts a we were the 4th boat to be pirated in as many months in
the same anchorage, by the same gang, with the same modis operandi,
had the good fortune of meeting Willie (Morning Dew) other pirated
vessel, to confirm their story.

ThreeAmerican boats travelling in convoy attacked. They managed to get
to Presidential level, and the ADMIRAL OF THE NAVY was given carte
blanche to sort this out. Well obviously they did not……but worse they
said they did…. There has been no media coverage, the cruising guides,
and even the Net on ch 8104 reports all is well in Colombia, otherwise
we would definitely not have stopped………..

We made the front page of the Sunday newspaper at El Universal. The
President visits Cartegena this week, and I am still trying for an
audience with him.

We have already been told that the retrieval of any of our goods would
be wildly optimistic, the only success to hope for would be the arrest
of the gang. And so this story is for any and all our friends in our
wake. BEWARE OF COLOMBIA, IT IS LAWLESS…….

Lastly, we would both like to say to the Residents of “one happy
island” as the ARUBANS like to call it. GSST, AARGH, shoo chooby,
dushi !!!!! When Armando and the occupants of de hutz heard about our
experience, they did a beach collection and fed-ex us money the very
next morning. Enough money to see the light… Such unconditional
giving…….this is the very reason we are cruising, to meet people like
the Arubans. THANK YOU ARUBA…..

Love and light,

Lynne and Chris Morgan

On the good ship MALAIKA