Free: Help find my boat...stolen

[Offjetnow]

Hi Folks; Stolen from Biscayne Bay, Miami, after Hurricane Irma. "Jade Queen" HIN# BYB473130883;
USA Documentation# 904841; Engine Serial # L014420U868121J (Perkins 4-236).
I was sailing with a friend a few weeks ago in St Maarten and ran into two sailors from Europe who saw my boat in Curacao. (Amazing story too long to tell here). A young couple bought it, and got a "great deal" because the boat had been through Hurricane Irma! (That's when she was stolen, here in South Fla.) After MANY calls to the USCG, I realize the only way to get my boat back is by flooding the internet with pictures and info. I will also contact my Senator and have him contact the USCG; perhaps then something will happen. It seems that the couple that bought the boat (from the thief) are victims also. If they contact me, I might work with them to mitigate their loss. According to the sailors, the couple were planning to sail to Panama, but not to the Pacific. This sighting was in February/March. Information was limited, but enough to convince me that my boat was seen. I intend to send a file by email to every country/immigration site in the Caribbean rim. I want my boat back. Offjetnow@gmail.com or 305-910-8075

[GordMay]

Is she a Bill Garden “Vagabond 47"

There was no match for Vessel ID: 904841, at the USCG National Vessel Documentation Center.

[john61ct]

Wow, terrible thing to have happen!

I did not know the USCG does that, good luck!

[Offjetnow]

Yessir, she is. 1983.

[Offjetnow]

I intend to flood the internet and the customs/immigration agencies throughout the Caribbean. Any help/ideas will be greatly appreciated.

[john61ct]

Get on a boat and find her?

[WindwardPrinces]

We've got time here, so why don't you go into some details about how this happened?

Where and when did the boat get stolen, exactly? Was it at a marina? How did the thieves produce the paperwork so the boat could be legally registered?

Why do you think the young couple are on your boat, and not just a similar one?

[Hardhead]

Any idea what the boat's name is now?

[Offjetnow]

I just returned from sailing St. Maarten; St Barts; Guadalupe; and Martinique with a friend on his Tayana 37. He's in Grenada now and I'm Miami.

The boat was moored at Dinner Key Marina in Miami(homeport) when Irma went up the west coast. My boat survived as she was well secured. After Irma passed and I returned … she was gone. Searched the Bay; rented an airplane and flew around looking for her. Assuming the USCG and Lloyds were looking for her also, I continued to search. She was gone. It wasn't until I ran into two East European sailors that I realized my boat was indeed stolen and sold with fake paperwork that could easily be replicated in another country. They told me they had seen it in Curacao and they identified it with specifics and confirmed it by the photos I showed them. I was astounded! Of course the couple that bought it for such a great deal was duped by the thieves also. Evidently they were having mechanical issues (i'll bet transmission) but were planning to sail to Panama. I'm willing to work with them if they come forward.

[Offjetnow]

The sailors that saw it couldn't remember that.

[Offjetnow]

Can't imagine why not unless it's because I haven't renewed it since the boat has been gone.

[Offjetnow]

I just pulled it up by vessel name and the correct info with that Doc. number came up. Jade Queen 904841.

[Offjetnow]

I had no problem pulling it up.

[hellosailor]

IIRC the USCG or the FBI would be the routine way to contact Interpol, who I think issue the red flag to all customs bureaus to stop and seize the vessel. There should be a clear record form the port entry and port exit clearances, of where it was and where it is bound for--but you've got to work each bureaucracy to get the information. There's supposed to be a process for that.

[a64pilot]

Doesn’t happen to have AIS or a VHF that the MMSI could be queried does it?
If so if you wanted to list the MMSI and ask for people to keep a lookout it may not hurt.

I don’t think letting your MMSI out publicly is any kind of issue that I know of?