Boat captain hurt in cutlass assault

A boat captain sustained injuries to his right arm after he was attacked Monday around 7:30 p.m. while his yacht was moored in the sheltered north-western area of Chateaubelair Bay.

Kitrida, a 44-foot sailing vessel with home port St Barts, arrived at Chateaubelair from Bequia midday on Monday, with Captain Andri {{more}}Khokhlou and his Vincentian friend Curtis. After clearing immigration at Chateaubelair, the crew moved the vessel in preparation for its journey further north Tuesday morning.

Curtis told SEARCHLIGHT that while moored in the new location, they were attacked by three men who boarded the yacht from a rowboat.

According to a police report, Khokhlou, a native of France, reported that three unknown men had entering his vessel as trespassers, with intent to commit theft and had chopped him on his right forearm with a cutlass.

Curtis said after the men had gone, they contacted the Coastguard, which arrived and brought them ashore. Khokhlou, 25, was taken to the Chateaubelair hospital, where he was treated for his injuries, then discharged.

On Tuesday, the Coastguard vessel returned with investigators, who visited the area where the incident had taken place, after which the crew was taken to the Chateaubelair Police Station for further questioning. They were released around 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Khokhlou, though reluctant to speak to the media, said that he has been coming to Chateaubelair for the past 10 years and does not want the bad publicity to negatively impact the area, as he wants to visit in the future.

“Chateaubelair is a beautiful place and the people are wonderful and friendly and I hope those men are caught,” he told SEARCHLIGHT.

A Petit Bordel fisherman who had reported on Tuesday that his boat was missing identified a small rowboat that was found by fishermen and brought to Fitz-Hughes Bay that morning as his own. According to the fishermen who found the boat, there was a cutlass on board the vessel when it was found.

Police believe that the abandoned boat was used in the foiled burglary of sailing yacht Kitrida, which departed Chateaubelair Tuesday evening. (AC)