Great escape owner faked heart attack and wreckage wreaking havoc
The Great Escape, the luxury yacht, that damaged Belize’s pristine barrier reef on November thirtieth, 2009 is gone but not forgotten. There were reports that it was leaking fuel into the sea and that it would have been moved. Well, the yacht is no longer at the site where it grounded. It wasn’t a salvage company, but Mother Nature herself and currents have drifted the wreckage towards Punta Manabique. Boaters in the Bay of Honduras have been advised to be on the lookout because it could cause an accident. When we last reported on the incident, the Department of Environment indicated the owner of the vessel, Albert Barcroft, had suffered heart failure and had to be rushed to Guatemala to seek treatment. However, according to Roy McNett, the editor of an online newspaper in Rio Dulce, Guatemala, Al Barcroft has taken up residence in Rio Dulce and has admitted that he faked his heart attack so he wouldn’t be taken to Belize City. McNett said that at the website’s blog, www.riodulcechisme.com, Barcroft has indicated that the authorities in Belize have not held him responsible for the grounding.
Via Phone: Roy McNett, Editor, Rio Dulce Chisme Vindicator
Roy McNett
“We are located in Rio Dulce and there is quite a large boating community out here, probably close to four hundred boats that are here. And many of the boaters here are upset about what happened. Of course there’s always rumors that perhaps he did it intentionally to collect the insurance. That has not been verified at all.”
Jose Sanchez
“The last we heard of Albert Barcroft, he had a heart attack and he went to Guatemala and left there. What do you actually know?”
Via Phone: Roy McNett
“He told me he faked the heart attack so he wouldn’t have to go onto Belize City.”
Jose Sanchez
“So he didn’t have a heart attack?”
Via Phone: Roy McNett
“He did not have a heart attack.”
Jose Sanchez
“And what has become of the boat. It’s no longer where it was near the Sapodilla Cayes where it landed on the reef?”
Via Phone: Roy McNett
“That’s the sad thing about it. The boat is now floating with the tide between Belize and Guatemala. There’s a photo on our website that shows the boat out there. It’s a navigation hazard, it’s very dangerous to be left there.”
Jose Sanchez
“Since you spoke to Mister Barcroft, has he accepted responsibility for landing his boat on the reef?”
Via Phone: Roy McNett
“He’s written in the blog that he has no fines at all, during the inquiries, he was not held responsible or negligent.”
Jose Sanchez
“So would you be surprised then to find out the investigation is not complete and it is a legal matter? So nothing has been resolved as yet.”
Via Phone: Roy McNett
“We are surprised that Belize has not as yet fined him for the damage to the reef. He is here in Rio Dulce and he’s buying some land here now.”
We have been unable to reach Martin Alegria, Chief Environmental Officer, for comment. However, the editor of Rio Dulce Chisme Vindicator happily provided us with Albert Barcroft’s email address. So if the authorities or anyone would like to express their feelings about the incident, the Great Escape’s owner can be reached at AlBarcroft@leonardonline.net
The boat was a problem in Belize so why the Belizean authorities didn’t immediately charged the man before letting him go?
And why didn’t the authorities removed the boat from the waters? This case should have been dealt with quick response instead of them running around in circles.
If the man was out for money from his insurance company, why would he care about your reef? The man saved millions by avoiding going to Belize, kind of the point he was trying to make, really. So I doubt if this matter will ever be resolved to anyone’s satisfaction.
It is ridiculous that the Belizean Authorities have not completed a report on this incident which is now almost 4 months old. What is more horrifying is that Belize does not have a plan in place of removing shipping vessels when they run aground on the reef. You would think that because the reef is one of our most prized possessions on this side of the world, we would do everything to try and safeguard and protect it. I would think that having a plan to remove vessels would be the first prioirty especially since we formed a Coast Guard crew. Sad that our politicians don’t think of our jewel as others do.
Only in Belize.
This rio dulce website has Al Barcroft’s lies in it. HE makes his posts as “The Great Escape
Freshman River Rat”. its funny his lies. check it out here….
http://www.riodulcechisme.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=4169
i’m gonna write Al Barcroft on the behalf of Belizeans since the dept. of environment is moving slow.
He is now living in Bells, TX USA and is running a horse scamming business.