Attempted Theft - The Caribbean Safety and Security Net

2302 – Attempted Theft in Colombia – Cabo de la Vela

Incident Date: 2019-01-25 at 21:00

Event Type: Attempted Theft

Stolen Items: theft not successful, thieves slashed tubes

Secured: Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: Thieves attempted to steal an in-the-water, chain locked dinghy, but were not successful. They slashed the tubes before departing. Another dinghy/outboard was stolen the same night from this remote anchorage. A third yacht anchored in this same bay had lifted and locked thier dinghy, and reported no issues.

January 25, 2019

2273 – Attempted Theft in Curacao (the Netherlands) – Spanish Water – anchorage

Incident Date: 2018-11-28 at 14:00

Event Type: Attempted Theft

Stolen Items: none – not successful

Secured: Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: A dinghy was well locked to the dock at the Pirates Nest from 1-4 PM while owners were ashore to check out. When they returned they found one side of a link of the 10mm stainless steel chain had been cut through with bolt cutters, and incomplete cuts were made on the other side of the same link. The yacht departed early the next morning, as planned. A report was made on the VHF net.

12.080345 -68.867071

November 28, 2018

2286 – Attempted Theft in Saint Lucia – Vieux Fort

Incident Date: 2018-11-25 at 01:00

Event Type: Attempted Theft

Stolen Items: None

Secured: N/A

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: Three monohulls were anchored fairly close to each other overnight in Vieux Fort. The crew of the yacht anchored farthest out was concerned about safety and maintained a night watch from the cockpit, and had their motion activated lights at the ready.

At about 1 AM they noticed 3 swimmers, each with a submersible light, as they approached the yacht anchored closest to shore. One of the swimmers began boarding by the stern ladder on the 1st yacht while the other 2 swimmers remained nearby. The observing yacht activated their security lights, and all 3 swimmers lights immediately turned toward the observing yacht, then all 3 of them swam away, passing slowly and close by the 2nd yacht.

After nearly an hour, stopping several times to turn and observe the watching yacht, the swimmers exited at the beach. The yacht departed at first light, and no police report was made.

November 25, 2018

2264 – Attempted Theft in Grenada – Grenada – Mt. Hartman Bay – Marina

Incident Date: 2018-10-27 at 22:00

Event Type: Attempted Theft

Stolen Items: Dinghy

Secured: Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: At about 2200 hrs a swimmer arrived at a private dock in Mt. Hartman Bay and lowered a dinghy from its davits. He discovered that the dinghy was securely locked to the dock/davits and then attempted to remove the outboard, which was also securely locked . Unsuccessful, he jumped back into the water and swam away. A police report was made, and the owners provided video surveillance to aid the investigation.

October 27, 2018

2260 – Attempted Theft in Bonaire – Kralendijk moorings

Incident Date: 2018-10-11 at 19:00

Event Type: Attempted Theft

Stolen Items: Nothing, thieves unsuccessful

Secured: Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: Around 7PM two young men (swimmers) boarded a catamaran in the mooring field. The yacht was well locked and the security system detected their presence, at the same time a passing dinghy noticed the disturbance and the 2 men jumping into the water. A report was made on the VHF net.

October 11, 2018

2254 – Attempted Theft in Trinidad and Tobago – Trinidad – Chaguaramas – TTSA

Incident Date: 2018-09-04 at 01:30

Event Type: Attempted Theft

Stolen Items: Dinghy and engine

Secured: Not Locked

Source Type: Unknown Hand Report

Incident Details: Owners were awakened by noise around 0130 HRs and quickly discovered that their yacht had been boarded and their dinghy/25HP outboard had been cut from its davits, by two thieves in an open fishing boat about 16-18 ft. in length. Shining a bright light and yelling by the captain caused the driver of the fishing boat to retrieve his partner from the stolen dinghy, which they abandoned before speeding off toward Chaguaramas, leaving behind the knife that had been used to cut the davit lines. The captain swam out and retrieved the dinghy, and the next day a report was made on the VHF net, to TTSA management, the Coast Guard and the police.

September 4, 2018

2238 – Attempted Theft in Bonaire – Fisherman’s pier

Incident Date: 2018-06-14 at 22:00

Event Type: Attempted Theft

Stolen Items: None

Secured: Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: Between 7PM and 11PM a dinghy locked to the fisherman’s dock was rifled and the fuel line disconnected. The tank had been moved but remained, it was locked to the dinghy, preventing the theft. The same night an unlocked fuel tank was succesfully stolen from another dinghy on a nearby dock. (see next report)

June 14, 2018

2232 – Attempted Theft in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Canouan – So. Glossy Bay

Incident Date: 2018-06-03 at 02:00

Event Type: Attempted Theft

Stolen Items: None, not successful

Secured: Locked

Source Type: 2nd Hand Report

Incident Details: A catamaran anchored in South Glossy Bay overnight. Well aware of prior problems in Canouan, the owners locked up securely. They were awoken when a swimmer tried to pry open a locked deck hatch. The thief, once discovered, ran forward and jumped overboard and swam away. Minor damage, but nothing taken. They departed Canouan early the next morning.

June 3, 2018

2228 – Attempted Theft in Cuba – Cienfuegos Harbor

Incident Date: 2018-05-14 at 02:15

Event Type: Attempted Theft

Stolen Items: None

Secured: Unknown

Source Type: 2nd Hand Report

Incident Details: Two men swam out to a dark boat and attempted to steal articles of value and an unsecured dinghy. At 0215 hrs the owner was awakened and chased the would be thieves off. There was no damage and nothing was taken. A report was made to the marina, port captain and on the VHF net.

May 14, 2018

2201 – Attempted Theft in Saint Lucia – Rodney Bay – Gros Islet

Incident Date: 2018-02-13 at 02:30

Event Type: Attempted Theft

Stolen Items: None, failed attempt

Secured: Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: Owners of a monohull discovered the painter on their in-the-water but stainless steel cable locked dinghy had been cut with a knife overnight. The thief was not successful.

CSSN would like to thank our information sharing partner, Noonsite, who received this report initially.

February 13, 2018

Tag: Attempted Theft Archives