Real-life pirates or just a movie?

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It is true. There are ruthless pirates operating these days.

Here in the Caribbean.

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Several pirate attacks were reported in previous years around Caribbean islands.

Yachts are approached by open pirogue fishing boats, usually during the day. The pirates board the yacht, take everything they can and sometimes injure the people on board.

Yachts are also boarded while on anchor in secluded anchorages. It is a risk sailors take when cruising these waters. One very violent attack took place near Frigate Island on a yacht anchored in the bay. The attackers sliced the couple on board with machettes.

The attacks - one of them occurred in April 2019 between Grenada and Trinidad and involved shooting - can decimate the yachting industry around the reported islands. In 2019 only about half of the usual number of yachts arrived in Trinidad to shelter there during the hurricane season, fearing attacks while sailing there. It is a serious problem.

The distances between the eastern islands are not great. About 100 miles. But the coast guard of Trinidad, also known as the ghost guard, were not there to act when needed. They do have the manpower and the gear to perfectly control those 100 miles of open sea. Yet these waters remain relatively dangerous.

But this scary and sad reality in not what I want to show you today. This post is about how one movie can create a whole industry just around the artificial set the designers created for the shoot.

You all know Pirates of the Caribbean, the movie. It was shot on location on the island of St. Vincent, the main island of a country called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the South Eastern Caribbean. The set was built in a bay called Wallilabou Bay, an amazingly beautiful and serene bay with water so deep, blue and clear it spins your head diving into its dark blue abyss.

The production built the whole pirate hideout in Wallilabou. Once the movie became a success, so did the location it was shot at. Today it is one of the most visited places on the island. A big attraction.

The owners of the land in Wallilabou sure made good out of the movie set leftover. There is a restaurant, a hotel, mooring for yachts, souvenirs and just anything a tourist might be content with.

Indeed busses and taxis unload hundreds if not thousands of people into this small bay daily. Mostly they come from the large cruise ships, anchored in the main port on the south tip of St vincent.

It is not the right time to hang out on the waterfront of Wallilabou. Wait till they leave around 3-4 PM or arrive before they do at 11-12 AM. These hours, when the bay is nearly back to what it used to be before Hollywood arrived, are really magical.

Wallilabou has a real special charm unlike any other bay I visited around St Vincent. It is not only beautifully crafted by the creation, with tall cliffs towering on both sides, calm clear waters, and a special kind of soft clear light, but also has the capacity ti deliver the visitor to another era, so it feels.

Just sit there on the stone wall by the water and feel the vibe. With some meditation you might be transported to the old times. When real pirates hid here, when real treasures were buried here, and when lawlessness ruled the east Caribbean. Not the real lawlessness of today of course. Just the Hollywood version.

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Piracy is real today and and a serious danger to sailboats.

Stay safe and keep blogging.

Hope you enjoyed this article!

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All images and text created by @YANNAY

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