THE sixth annual International Nereid’s Rally, scheduled for Guyana in September has been cancelled due to fears of piracy attacks, which have been attributed to sensational media reportage on the matter.

Some 15 yachts with international guests were expected to visit the country from September 13, to explore Guyana’s natural and cultural beauty and participate in a list of other tourism-related activities.

They were scheduled to be welcomed by Business Minister Dominic Gaskin at the Hurakabra River Resort, on the Essequibo River.

However, a recent press release from the resort states that due to the “sudden, short-notice withdrawal of 11 yachts”, the rally has been cancelled.

The cancellation was attributed to the international and local media headlines of the recent attack on Guyanese fishermen off the coast of Suriname, which helped to spread fear among the yachtsmen, many of whom live aboard their vessels.

“These headlines have found their way into the international media, on to the specialist websites upon which cruising yachts rely for their information and, most recently, less than a week ago, into a major Washington Post story reporting on attacks at sea on Trinidad & Tobago boats [not yachts] from Venezuela offshore Trinidad,” the release stated.

It went on to add: “Sadly for Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, whose offshore seas are traversed by the International Nereid’s Rally, have been etched into the minds of yachtsmen as a place where piracy occurs and where they do not belong.”

Joint owner of Hurakabra River Resort and well-known Public Relations Consultant Kit Nascimento, for the past 20 years has been intimately involved in the planning and development, of identifying Bartica and the Essequibo River as a Caribbean yachting destination.

Nascimento, who also represents the organisers of the International Rally according to the release, expressed “his huge disappointment and frustration at this setback to the progress we have made in making Guyana and the Essequibo River, a place where yachts are welcomed and can safely sail to enjoy themselves and at the same time, enjoy Guyana. One yacht, for instance, had already requested a booking for its crew and friends to visit Kaieteur Falls.”

He added that it is regrettable that news reports had sensationalised the attack, stating: “It is particularly frustrating because what he calls ‘criminal attacks on small fishing boats’ offshore Suriname and Guyana have been blown into ‘piracy on the high seas,’ which is entirely untrue and a misrepresentation of the reality.”

Some of the local headlines identified in the release included: ‘Fallout from deadly high seas attack’ which appeared in Kaieteur News and ‘Suriname arrests 13 Guyanese suspects in piracy attack’ on Demerara Waves.

Nonetheless, Nascimento has indicated his willingness to work closely with the Ministry of Tourism and the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) to “address this challenge with which a vital tourism event for Guyana is now unfairly confronted.”

The International Nereid’s Rally was initiated when Italian sailor, David Matelicani met Nascimento in 2011, whilst sailing up the Essequibo River.

In September 2013, with the support of the Ministry of Tourism in Guyana and the Mayor of Saint Laurent in French Guiana, Matelicani launched the first rally sailing from Trinidad & Tobago.

Since then, the rally has been a major tourism activity growing over the years to become a much anticipated feature on Guyana’s tourism calendar.