Security at Anchor Eastern Caribbean

[nhschneider]

I believe that if you were to look at it from an actuarial point of view, you’d find that the odds of having an ‘incident’ are relatively low. There is probably no way to know how many boats there are cruising in the Caribbean but in any given year it probably numbers into the thousands. If 100 boats experienced ‘incidents’ (I would be surprised if the number was that high), you’re still looking at a fraction of a percentage of boats having a problem. That’s pretty good odds, in my opinion. We sailed up from Trinidad and were pretty lax about our level of security and had no problems - granted, that’s anecdotal at best.

Have fun, don’t worry and enjoy fair winds and calm seas.

[Cdreamin]

You can't fix stupid but can someone kindly cure my ignorance? What/ where exactly is the thorny path?

[fallingeggs]

Originally Posted by Cdreamin

You can't fix stupid but can someone kindly cure my ignorance? What/ where exactly is the thorny path?

Going east from the Bahamas to Guadeloupe. 99% of the sailing is close hauled.

[Capt'n Ricko]

Security on S/V Tiki Notion

1) Companionway are 2 aluminum bar inserts (modeled off of wash boards).
2) Saloon hatch is Stainless Steel and permanent.
3) V-Berth large hatch is locked down with no bars, which provides an emergency escape.
4) Inside switch turns on alarm & strobe light.

Have not had to use yet, as Pacific Mexico is quite safe (except it is always prudent to lift your dinghy at night).

Cheers!

[daletournier]

I dont understand the argument " i dont worry about security and we've been fine".

I had zero problems with intruders for years, right upto the point i had an intruder. To me its like saying , ive never worn a seat belt, never needed to.

Where i am currently located its been repeatedly said by cruisers that have passed through in previous years that theft is a problem ,yet last night a cruising couple that have been here for a whole two weeks said to me "we havent locked up at night or when we've left the boat since we've been here and havent had a problem !"

I think we have a responsibility to discourage theft and crime towards us, without being excessively paranoid denying opportunity by locking your boat up, just like locking your front door at home is a great deteriant.

What's the downside?

[Cdreamin]

Thanks for the cure Stephen. I feel better already.

[fallingeggs]

Update. First night in Rodney Bay, St Lucia, my dinghy's external fuel tank and dinghy's anchor got stolen during the night. Dinghy and motor were locked tight, but not lifted as I don't have a great way of doing so. Had a SUP paddle in the dinghy and some empty jerry cans lightly tied on deck which went untouched.

Blasted cost of some cheap-ish fuel and a well stocked (but not cheap) marine store. Blah!

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by fallingeggs

Update. First night in Rodney Bay, St Lucia, my dinghy's external fuel tank and dinghy's anchor got stolen during the night. Dinghy and motor were locked tight, but not lifted as I don't have a great way of doing so. Had a SUP paddle in the dinghy and some empty jerry cans lightly tied on deck which went untouched.

Blasted cost of some cheap-ish fuel and a well stocked (but not cheap) marine store. Blah!

Sigh.. I just left there 3 days ago.. Did you not read the posts on Facebook and CSSN? Dinghy and loose item theft has been an issue there all year. Dinghies MUST BE LIFTED AND LOCKED, no exceptions. Just one day before we arrived a dinghy was stolen off the back of a boat with the steel cable cut. Any dinghy in the water is easy prey and will be pilfered gauranteed.

Just to add some opposite to this.. We spent 6 weeks in St. Lucia this year (4 of it in Rodney) and had ZERO problems. However we not only lift and lock our dinghy every night, but ensure our decks are clear of easy to steal items. I gaurantee we were cased, but there were just easier targets.

[fallingeggs]

Originally Posted by travellerw

Sigh.. I just left there 3 days ago.. Did you not read the posts on Facebook and CSSN? Dinghy and loose item theft has been an issue there all year. Dinghies MUST BE LIFTED AND LOCKED, no exceptions. Just one day before we arrived a dinghy was stolen off the back of a boat with the steel cable cut. Any dinghy in the water is easy prey and will be pilfered gauranteed.

Just to add some opposite to this.. We spent 6 weeks in St. Lucia this year (4 of it in Rodney) and had ZERO problems. However we not only lift and lock our dinghy every night, but ensure our decks are clear of easy to steal items. I gaurantee we were cased, but there were just easier targets.

Oh I knew of the issues here. Just made a bad $150 bet. Who would want my five pound grappling anchor?!

Silver lining, developed a lift for the dinghy. Makes us list a few degrees, but ought to work. Next time.

[hpeer]

Ah! Thanks for that. We also have a PB. Good to see how you did that.

[fallingeggs]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Ah! Thanks for that. We also have a PB. Good to see how you did that.

No problem! If it isn't clear from the pictures, I installed d-rings on the aft side panel for those two aft lines. The forward line is tied around the middle seat. The line going to the bow of the PB isn't doing anything. Takes a bit of trial and error to balance the PB via the length of the two aft lines. Then a line from the bow of the PB forward to pull the nose slightly into the big boat seems to keep the PB from bouncing around. And it has been pretty gusty here in St Lucia these past few days.

[fallingeggs]

Getting my dinghy gas tank stolen is annoying, but what's worse is that my wife was having trouble sleeping afterwards. Kept thinking someone was getting on the boat. (She also started to read CSSN a bit too much, me thinks...)

In any case, I needed a solution.

A $15 deadbolt seems to have done the trick. It locks the plexy glass sliding hatch closed, which itself blocks the washboards from lifting. Simple to install, small, easy to engage, and out of the way. Wish more project were like this! If someone hit the door hard enough, it would probably rip the screws out, but at least then I'd be awake and taking other actions (lights, air horn, radio). Still nothing above the v-berth hatch.

Cheers.