cssn - The Caribbean Safety and Security Net

1993 – Theft in Saint Martin (France) – Lagoon

Incident Date: 2015-12-09 at 02:25

Event Type: Theft

Stolen Items: 13ft Boston Whaler taken from mooring and outboard stolen

Secured: Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: At 2.25am a team of determined thieves stole our Boston Whaler from Nettle Bay, French St. Martin. They had to cut through stainless steel chains and locks securing the boat to two sand screws. We know the whaler was towed out into Marigot Bay to a position approx 18.05N 63.09W, where we surmise the thieves then cut the two stainless steel chains and three heavy stainless steel locks securing the 15hp Yamaha outboard and probably loaded it onto a ship or boat. They then towed the whaler back into Simpson Bay and at approx 3.30am tied it to the stern of a rusted-out fire boat to the north of the Witches Tit. Why they towed the boat back into the Lagoon is a mystery. While reporting this to the Brigade Nautique, someone else was reporting the theft of their 10ft aluminium hulled RIB and 20HP engine. The owner said his dinghy was locked to his yacht with two stainless steel cables, both of which were cut. The incident happened at the same time as our whaler was stolen and in the same area of Marigot Bay where our whaler had it’s outboard removed before being towed back into the Lagoon. I know the positions and times because the whaler is fitted with a tracker. We lost a whaler in similar circumstances just over a year ago, I use the whaler for my business, hence the tracker. Unfortunately, there was no tracker on the engine. We though we had done enough to secure the boat. We were wrong. Those who took it were tooled up, not chance thieves or kids. CSSN NOTE: When possible lifting and locking your dinghy to the yacht with stainless steel chain and a quality lock is your best protection against theft. SXM remains a particularly problematic area, and thefts are under reported. Please keep the cruising community informed, our online incident reporting form makes it easy.

December 9, 2015

1995 – Theft in Saint Martin (France) – Lagoon

Incident Date: 2015-12-09 at 02:25

Event Type: Theft

Stolen Items: 10ft aluminium hulled RIB and 20HP engine

Secured: Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: Reported to the Brigade Nautique, SMX, Marigot Bay the theft of a 10ft aluminium hulled RIB and 20HP engine. The owner said his dinghy was locked to his yacht with two stainless steel cables, both of which were cut. The incident happened in Marigot Bay at the same time as a theft of a Boston Whaler from am mooring.

December 9, 2015

1991 – Burglary in Puerto Rico (US) – Vieques – Rompeolas

Incident Date: 2015-11-30 at 00:00

Event Type: Burglary

Stolen Items: USCG Type I adult life jacket and 2 children jackets, fender, spot light, personal lights

Secured: Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: November 30 in Vieques Rompeolas, burglars eneterd the boat at night got away with many items. The burglers seemed to have left in a hurry because they spent time removing the anchor and rode and then left rode on deck and anchor in the water, there were more jackets inside and other things they could have taken. Reported to police.

November 30, 2015

1992 – Theft in United States Virgin Islands (US) – St. Thomas – Water Island

Incident Date: 2015-11-30 at 00:00

Event Type: Theft

Stolen Items: Dinghy, hard, aluminum transom, fire hose on gunwhale, outboard engine with white cowling with two horizontal stripes

Secured: Unknown

Source Type: 2nd Hand Report

Incident Details: November 30, at night in Water Island USVI hard dinghyand outboard motor stolen. It is unknown if it was reported to police. Reported to CSSN via KPK.

November 30, 2015

1990 – Vandalism in Trinidad and Tobago – Tobago – Charlotteville

Incident Date: 2015-11-28 at 00:00

Event Type: Vandalism

Stolen Items: Jumping from Jetty into Dingy which broke the underlining and broke my paddle
Tampered with my engine and took out my drain plug on the transom

Secured: Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: In Charlotteville Tobago there are a bunch of young adults who are damaging dingies on purpose. When you leave your dingy at the dingy dock they jump from the dock onto your dingy breaking the underside and then into the sea and they are break your oars and take the drain plugs out of your transom. 28 November, they trashed my dingy and broke my Tohatsu motor and 29 November, they broke the oar of another dingy and stole the seat from a French dingy. They also stole the stern anchors of the Brazilian dingy a few days ago just leaving the rope behind. If you are going to come here best beware but its not safe to leave your dingy at the dock. Reported to Police.

November 28, 2015

1989 – Assault in Colombia – Santa Marta – Taganga Bay

Incident Date: 2015-11-25 at 02:30

Event Type: Assault

Stolen Items: Robbers grabbed everything they could see of value including all jewellery, tanzanite, pearls, 2 diamond rings, including a Cullinan diamond. Also stolen were outboard motors (both gone), watches, phones, computers, cash, credit cards, fishing rods etc.
Fortunately they did not take passports & boat papers, nor did they rip out main navigation equipment (other than hand held vhfs & binoculars) nor ropes.

Secured: Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: We were boarded by armed PROFESSIONAL THIEVES & robbed in Taganga Bay, near Santa Marta, Colombia. The incident took place at around 2.30am and reads almost identical to this one, reported on noonsite in 2012, down to them being high on drugs:
There were 5 men, who arrived in a dugout canoe. 4 boarded, at least 2 had guns & 1 had a knife, that we saw. We were both tied up & hit by 4 thieves, at least 2 of the 4 on board had guns & one had a small knife at my husbands throat. The dogs did not bark.
We did have a plan of action if this kind of thing happened, unfortunately, my husband heard something hit the side of the boat & woke up. Instead of turning on the cockpit lights, he unlocked the door & went out to look. We had agreed that we would turn lights on & make noise. If we were locked inside the boat, at least we would have time to make radio & phone calls, but he was sleepy, not thinking straight & went straight out to 4 guys with guns & knives. I had actually hidden away our tablet, which has a good navigation program & they missed taking the dongle from the computer which had a local sim with airtime, so I was able to get a call out to our agent Dino who raised the alarm with police & coastguard.I could not get anyone on channel 16 or channel 72 for 1/2 hour and it was at least an hour before the coastguard came.
We had spoken with other people who advised us to go into the marina. We made an informed decision with an unfortunate outcome. Always read noonsite, Caribbean safety & security network, Facebook cruising group reports prior to going anywhere.
Our incident was almost identical to the one reported on noonsite in 2012. I wonder if it was the same ‘gang’? The police didn’t even come on board to check the 100 ‘ s of fingerprints, so the follow up comments from that report that the authorities are taking such incidents seriously is suspect! We really hope that local stakeholders in this area can provide an organised safe haven for cruisers, perhaps something similar to PAYS in Dominica.. We truly hope this never happens again in this bay.
Reported to Police, Coast Guard and Marina.

November 25, 2015

1986 – Burglary in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Mayreau – Saline Bay

Incident Date: 2015-11-15 at 18:00

Event Type: Burglary

Stolen Items: Cash, both EC and US currency. Approximate value $100.00 US.

Secured: Not Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: Between 1800 and 2000 hrs, Sunday while crew was off the boat anchored in Saline Bay, Mayreau, the boat was boarded and entered through a latched but not locked deck hatch. Upon returning, the crew found wet tracks inside the saloon and forward cabin. Lockers had been rifled and only cash was taken from a wallet stored in one of the cabin lockers. Nothing else was taken. The thief attempted to wipe up the water tracks with a shirt found lying on the saloon floor. The main companion way hatch that was locked, had been disturbed. An attempt to contact officials will be made.

November 15, 2015

1987 – Theft in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Bequia – Admiralty Bay (Port Elizabeth)

Incident Date: 2015-11-13 at 00:00

Event Type: Theft

Stolen Items: Dinghy

Secured: Not Locked

Source Type: 2nd Hand Report

Incident Details: Dinghy was chained but not locked. Also tied with line to stern of boat while anchored out in Harbour, north end, tony gibbons beach area but well off the shore by 100 meters. Theft occurred between 10 pm and 6 am. Grey dinghy with 10 hp Honda. Boat name is stenciled on the side of dinghy. Reported to Police, Local VHF Net

November 13, 2015

1988 – Theft in Martinique (France) – St. Anne

Incident Date: 2015-11-11 at 01:00

Event Type: Theft

Stolen Items: dinghy 25hp honda, elec start and tilt.

Secured: Locked

Source Type: 2nd Hand Report

Incident Details: A catamaran had dinghy and outboard stolen from St Anne, Martinique. Reported to the police, who told them there had been several dinghy thefts recently, principally from charter boats. the dinghy was in water, but locked to cat. 25hp honda, electric start and tilt. Reported via KPK.

CSSN Note: More information may be forthcoming from the source. Date of incident is approximate. Multiple sources have indicated that thefts of this type are underreported in this location. Captains may wish to consider extra precautions in this anchorage.

November 11, 2015

1994 – Theft in Haiti – Ile de Vache

Incident Date: 2015-10-29 at 03:00

Event Type: Theft

Stolen Items: fenders

Secured: N/A

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: Only fenders disappeared but that’s still theft. Lucky we have dogs because it could have been more than just feders. Not reported to local authorities.

October 29, 2015

Author: cssn Archives