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INSIDECOSTARICA.COM
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COSTA RICA NEWS
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Thursday 21 October 2010 |
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Pirate
Attack
Reported
on
Quepos,
Costa
Rica
Sailboat
By:
Capt.
Pat
Rains,
TheLog.com
QUEPOS,
Costa
Rica --
At least
six
masked,
heavily
armed
pirates
snuck
aboard
American
boater
Bruce
Stevens’
anchored
sailboat
after
dark,
restrained
all
three
people
aboard
with
duct
tape and
wire
ties,
threatened
them
with
weapons,
and then
took 90
minutes
to loot
the
boat, he
reported
this
week.
Stevens
and his
boat
partner,
Clark
Nicholson,
were
cruising
in the
region
aboard
their
50-foot
Gulfstar
sailboat
Two
Amigos,
out of
Dana
Point.
First
word of
their
plight
had to
be
relayed
by S/V
Camelot
over the
Internet,
because
Stevens’
radios
and
dinghy
were
stolen
in the
incident,
he said.
In an
interview
this
week
with The
Log
Newspaper,
Stevens
said he,
his
girlfriend
and
Nicholson
were
below
decks
watching
movies,
at about
7:30
p.m.
Oct. 15,
when the
attackers
struck.
“We were
silently
boarded
by six
or more
heavily
armed
bandits
carrying
shotguns
and
pistols,”
Stevens
said.
“They
made a
silent
entry on
a water
taxi.
“One of
them was
on drugs
and
wanted
to kill
us …
waiving
a knife
and
pistol
and
constantly
making
threats,”
Stevens
said.
“The
leader
spoke a
little
English
and
contained
the
crazy
ones on
drugs.
“They
also
were
thinking
of
raping
my El
Salvadorian
girlfriend,
until
she told
the
leader
she had
four
sons who
depend
on her,”
Stevens
said. “I
am a
former
Marine
and
could
have
taken
two or
three
out, but
I was
worried
about my
buddy
and
girlfriend.
“We were
duct-taped
-- and,
because
they
were
worried
about
me, I
received
extra
tape,
plus
electrical
ties and
had two
armed
guys
watching
me,” he
told The
Log.
Stevens
reported
that the
pirates
stole
three
computers,
cash and
all the
boat’s
electronics
--
including
radar, a
chartplotter,
two ham
radios,
an
in-dash
VHF
radio,
two
handheld
VHF
radios,
a Pactor
modem,
an
inverter,
three
cell
phones,
two
handheld
lights
and a
copy
machine.
He
estimated
the loss
at
$12,000,
and said
he has
no
insurance
to cover
the
theft.
“After
they
left, we
broke
free,”
Stevens
said,
“and I
went
ashore
in a
little
dinghy.”
He said
he was
able to
recover
his
larger
dinghy
and its
outboard
engine
from the
rocks.
“They
tried to
steal
the
engine,
but it
was too
heavy.”
Stevens
said he
“made
reports
to the
police
and
coast
guard.
The
police
were
cooperative,
but I
have no
faith in
their
ability
to
prosecute
or
recover.”
Stevens
continued,
“it
appears
the
ladrones
(thieves)
were
watching
us for
two
days.
They
timed it
for a
high
tide
just
after
dark to
strike,
so they
can
reenter
the
estuary.
... It
appears
they
live on
an
island
that the
police
are
afraid
to
enter.”
Estero
Boca
Vieja,
the
estuary
on the
north
side of
Quepos,
is
shallow
but
accessible
at high
tides.
Inside,
there is
a small
boat
anchorage
and El
Coco
docks
for
pangas
and
excursion
boats
used by
cruise
ship
passengers,
and then
miles of
uncharted
mangrove
channels.
South of
the
estuary
is a new
breakwater-enclosed
marina,
Pez
Vela,
that
caters
to
charter
sportfishing
boats,
cruising
sailboats
and
motoryachts.
On
Oct.18,
the
marina
dockmaster
said he
had not
heard of
the
attack
on Two
Amigos.
The port
captain’s
office
was
closed
for
relocation.
South of
the
marina,
Quepos
Pier is
used by
the
region’s
commercial
sailfish
boats,
and
south of
that is
the vast
Manuel
Antonio
National
Park,
with
more
beaches
and
anchorages
-- all
popular
with
cruising
boaters.
Stevens
said he
replaced
the
boat’s
VHF
radio
and has
already
relocated
Two
Amigos
en route
to
Panama.
“The
most
important
thing is
that
Clark,
myself
and a
guest
are
still
alive --
especially
since I
gave
them a
hard
time.
“We ...
now
light
the deck
up at
night,
as well
as lock
ourselves
below --
like
rats --
to buy
time for
a mayday
and turn
on the
ship’s
horn,”
Stevens
said.
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