West Bay Dock Warning

[Doctorfish]

I was up at the GC west bay dock last Saturday at 7 AM to go out with one of the dive ops and there were about half a dozen locals in the parking lot drinking, smoking ganja and arguing. 7 AM!! They started up with everyone who arrived, smashed a bottle on one of the cars that pulled in and eventually got into a fight with several of the DMs and customers there. I personally didn't know if I was going to be just insulted, hit or robbed. The situation escalated to include one of the drunks smashing a bottle over the head of one of the others and then throwing beer bottles at one of the DMs and hitting her. Most of the customers retreated to the relative safety of the dive boats at the end of the dock but had to run a gauntlet to get there.
One drunk staggered up the dock and threatened to come back with his gun. The police arrived at this point but were very slow in controlling the situation.

Eventually, a few locals were in the back of a squad car and the rest scattered, but overall, I certainly felt threatened for the first time on GC.

The West Bay Dock is something of a tourist stop. There are usually vendors there with local crafts, coconuts and conch shells for sale. The West side dive boats also leave from there. Drunks, weed and fighting can't be good for the tourist industry.

Anyone else ever had a bad time at the dock or adjacent parking lot?

 

[Skeptic14]

Last Tuesday our dive boat brought us back there at the completion of our Kittiwake dive and all was fine, a few locals selling conch shells, definitely nothing that felt unsafe.

The fact that upon arrival the police couldn't immediately get the situation under control is probably the most troubling to me. There will be bad apples and with liquid courage that can make things escalate, but the police force should have the training/tools to immediately restore order.

We did some "off the beaten-path" snorkeling while we were there and were the only people at some locations, maybe we wouldn't have done that if we'd experienced what you did.

Was it just drunken insults and cat-calling and then the DMs responded that made it escalate, or were they getting in people's faces and being aggressive and provocative?

 

[Insta-Gator]

Sorry to hear about the incident. We've been visiting Grand Cayman for more than 20 years and never felt unsafe. Perhaps world unrest and economic issues have tainted the island.

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

Boys will be boys , can happen anywhere any time

 

[Doctorfish]

One of the boys was an exceedingly drunk woman and she was the worst offender IMO. She was the one throwing bottles and instigating the argument. The DMs and customers were just trying to get to the dock. I guess making eye contact was all that was required to get the drunks going. Most of the yelling that they did was about the fact that it was their island and we were not welcome. I think that what I witnessed in the AM was the remnants of a party from the Friday night before.

The police were ineffective in that they watched one guy walk up the dock, make a threat to a DM and us on the boat, start to push tanks into the ocean, and did nothing.

We were on the dock for about 20 minutes and it seemed to take that long for the police to manage to get 2 people into their cruiser and disperse the rest.

I know that this sort of thing can happen anywhere. My point was that the police response was slow. I did not feel any safer after they arrived then I did before. Next time I go up to the west bay dock, I will cruise up in the car with the doors locked first.

In general, I believe the tourist areas of GC are safe but there are parts of Georgetown that I would't go near at night. I guess I might have to add West Bay to my list.

 

[billinwilliamston]

We've never run into anything like that at the West Bay Dock, but we've certainly seen it in other places (downtown East End can be quite the gauntlet on a Saturday night). Chances are that they were still up from the night before. Most of the locals I know claim that it's not locals that are causing those sorts of problems, it's Jamaicans or Haitians or Bahamians or Cubans depending on who you talk to.

Of course if they were spouting about it being their island, that kind of negates the off-islanders argument.

 

[Alex777]

My car was "keyed" the last time I parked there. They were locals hanging out there on that occasion.

 

[John A Lewis]

What is surprising to me is that I've always understood that GC has always had some stiff punishments for law violators. The behavior you describe indicates no fear of punishment at all.

 

[Skeptic14]

Most of the yelling that they did was about the fact that it was their island and we were not welcome.

The police were ineffective in that they watched one guy walk up the dock, make a threat to a DM and us on the boat, start to push tanks into the ocean, and did nothing.

We were on the dock for about 20 minutes and it seemed to take that long for the police to manage to get 2 people into their cruiser and disperse the rest.

I know that this sort of thing can happen anywhere. My point was that the police response was slow. I did not feel any safer after they arrived then I did before.

That is what is the worse part IMO... even in the presence of police the harassment and property "damage" continued... Clearly there isn't much respect or fear of the police force.

What is surprising to me is that I've always understood that GC has always had some stiff punishments for law violators. The behavior you describe indicates no fear of punishment at all.

Yep.

We had a great trip and never felt unsafe but just shrugging off an incident like this especially because of the ineffectiveness of the police seems naive. We definitely want to return to GC in the future, and hopeful this and other stories of increasing robbery etc aren't becoming a trend and new normal.

 

[tkaelin]

Thanks for the post. Very disturbing, especially if it has been or becomes more than just an isolated incident. There is no faster way to hurt your tourism business than episodes like the one you reported.