ckf@dr.com

ARISMENDY CALDERÓN

Editora Listín Diario

Paseo de los Periodistas No. 52

Apartado 1455

Santo Domingo

Captain Leslie Klipfel

S/V La Bulle

St.John's, Antigua

British West Indies

June 7, 2001

Sr. Arismendy Calderón:

On May 24, 2001, my companion Jeannine and I sailed from Cayo Leventado to Punta Icaro in your eastern provinces. We put the anchor down in the middle of Bahía Reyes (latitude
19° 01.2' longitude 68° 68.9') between Punta Icaco and Punta Reyes at around 10:30 a.m. The stop was needed to check the starter motor which had shorted out putting 20 amperes into the aluminum hull. I also needed to inspect the propeller which was getting loose. Between us we have nearly 140 years, so after the repairs we wanted to rest before the long night trip to Punta Cana. (At this point I should note that both the 1958 Convention on Territorial Sea and the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed by the Dominican Republic guarantee my right to anchor on this coast for the purposes declared above.)

Around 11:00 a.m. two fishermen came by saying that the comandante wanted us to leave. Half an hour later a boat arrived with 3 individuals. One waved a .45 calibre automatic pistol, and the two younger ones pointed a shotgun at us.

When asked by the leader to leave the harbor I explained that I needed to repair and inspect the propeller. This did not help, and the leader ordered the two young men to climb aboard to inspect the boat. They were very excited and pushed us aside to get into the boat. I asked them why all this aggressiveness, and I asked for identifications as I had some doubts as to their intentions. They had no uniforms and looked more like bandidos than officials of the country. One had a red sweatshirt with black shorts. The other was in a white shirt and bathing suit. The leader waving his automatic around identified himself as Carlos Damian Peña, Official de Mando, Base Naval 27 Febrero, Santo Domingo.

As the two younger men searched the boat I discussed with the official and got to talk to his boss in Miches via the VHF on Channel 16. The comandante told me that this bay was a military zone and that I had to leave. I told him I would do so but told him that I could not know this bay was a military zone as nothing was mentioned on my chart.

The search lasted about 45 minutes during which time I discussed with the leader, while Jeannine stay frightened in the cockpit. When they left, having found nothing, Jeannine went down to find a real mess all over the boat and salt water on the floor and beds -- the two young men were soaked in seawater when they arrived on board. She soon found that $110 -- which were in a cabinet had disappeared. I checked my own wallet and also realized that $160 had vanished.

I immediately took the dinghy to report to the official de mando what we were missing. He asked the two men to answer my claim, and, of course, both denied any wrong doing. One even dropped his pants, a swimsuit, to show me he had no money hidden in his genitalia. I asked Carlos Damian to report the incident to his comandante in Miches.

About one hour later he asked me to climb on a motorbike marked "MdG" with him in front and an armed soldier, this time in uniform, behind me. After 20 km. of motocross on sandy roads and on the beach at up to 80 km/h we were in Miches. I explained the events to the chief who told me that it was my fault that the money disappeared as I should not have authorized more than one navy man in the boat so that I could control them. I told him that it was not possible to argue with aggressive and excited guys waving and pointing pistols and shotguns at you. He finally told me that we could stay in the bay until the next morning. I had realized by his attitude that there would be no inquiry, so I gave up trying to recoup our money.

The return motocross was as scary and dangerous as the first. We left around 6:30 p.m. for Punta Cana where we told our story to the local comandante. He appeared quite disturbed, but I don't know if he reported the incident further.

We were very glad to depart the Dominican Republic where it appears that officials of the Navy participate in armed piracy.

muy atentamente,