TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands 'Borrowed' dingy at Foxy's

In 32 trips, had a new one last Sunday....'missing' dingy. We tied up at Foxy's this past Sunday to enjoy the end of the wooden boat regatta and the live band. I tied my dingy line UNDER another one at the dock 15 feet from shore, come back 2 hours later, dingy gone. Yeah I freaked as I had crew on the boat in White Bay, and 3 buzzed ones with me. Cut to the chase, a local that happened to be sitting on the pier at 2030, heard me yapping about losing my dingy to Sunsail, walks up to me and says "Hey mon, I sees a dingy over der" And no sh*t, there sat my dingy, 30 yards away, in a dark spot, AGAINST the tide, with ALL the line inside it. He took me for a walk to retrieve it (and a ride), all the while babbling about money etc... I was so freaking happy to get it back that I gave him all I had, $22. Yep, lesson learned, and now passed on. Funny now, and a story for next weeks trip, but also a heads up for others. Guessing I'm not the first. And yes I mentioned to Fox the next day, so hopefully that gets handled locally.

We lock the dink and engine. How many grey dinghys with Yamahas can there be? We also lock the dink to the boat.

Cheers, RickG

think I know the "helpful guy". It will NOT be addressed, the locopopo will snicker as you leave.

unties your dingy and extorts money. Lock it!

We always lock our dinghy - especially since we forgo the added insurance so the dinghy isn't covered..

Unfortunately, the days of Foxy handling situations like this are long over. So many nice people and places to visit in the BVI...We've pretty much given up on Great Harbor. It's not a big deal, but who needs that crap when there are so many other options.

OOH. Sorry to hear this. One thing I will say is that many times the people who steal things on JVD come over from Tortola and St. Thomas. Very sorry to hear you had this experience and sorry to hear that people are giving up on Great Harbour. For those of us who live here, it's frustrating and often little we can do and little response by authorities.

There are lots of things that could be done. The restaurants could get together, and pay for someone to man the dock, and take care of things, The authorities could be more active.. or perhaps just active!

The old saying, "Lock it or Lose It!" always applies.

You would not leave $7000 cash just sitting on the dock, so why leave a tender there, unsecured (Same value).

Also, Bring your own padlock from home. All Sunsail padlocks use the same key... Kinda scary fact...

Be safe!

You are dead on with the first line of your post, but I think a bit off with the third line.

Your point is taken, but I'm sorry, leaving $7K in cash unattended is NOT the same thing as leaving a dinghy tied up to a dinghy dock in full public view.

Appreciate the OP sharing his experience. The bottom line is that if a location gets a reputation for not being as safe as other locales, the businesses there will suffer.

Don't blame the victim.

if you think a 10' dinghy and a 9.8 HP outboard costs 7K, I got some land to sell you.

Yep... absurd comment!

The elders on the island need to take control of the youth! Instead of working, I remember seeing groups of them loitering around the docks smoking weed etc. while large parties on cats just decided to avoid the seen and stay on boats to eat drink. If I were Foxy or the elders with businesses, I would do something about that.... we'll see in a few days if things changed or got worse.

same here in the states

What would be the catalyst for this change? Surely not the comments on this board from repeat customers. This topic comes up every few years and nothing ever changes. For every TTOL member who swears off Great Harbor there are two day trippers or cruise ship passengers ready to step in and take their place.

Umm.. 12' Caribe $4700. 15hp Mercury $2800.. The point is, These things cost money, and many people don't bother to lock them up. Its like leaving your car open, with the keys in it. No problem in a small town where you know everyone...

Ask any 'live-aboard cruiser' if they lock the tenders at the dock.. and 99% of them do. (Even to their boat at night, or lift it out of the water)

It is Sad that most places in the world are like this, but that's life.

As a boat owner I can assure you a new dingy AND a new 9.8 outboard in the BVI goes in fact start at $7500.

I paid $5500 at Budget Marine in Nanny Cay a few years ago. If you went to West Marine in Fajardo is would have been $4200. That was a AB dinghy and 9.8 Tohatsu.

regardless of the local price, its still an expensive and not easily replaced piece of gear to lose. Nanny Cay does not exactly keep them sitting on the shelf. They only get delivery a few times per year.

Maybe we should put a gps tracking device in the dingy locker?

On a practical side: how you guys suggest locking charter dinghy? Using painter line??? What stops anybody from just cutting it with the knife? One would need to bring long cable lock (like for motorbike) from mainland. It is still probably not long enough.

The charter company will likely supply a lock and cable for the purpose of securing the dingy to thevdock and to the boat.

Every charter company supplies a long cable and lock for securing dinks. It is long enough to use at the dock and to lock it to the mother boat at night. Be sure to thread it through the dink motor and the gas can. We rig cans on a fishing line to various parts of the dink that might be vulnerable as an added measure. If anyone tries to untie or cut the line it makes a hell of a noise. More times than not they will just quietly untie an unsecured boat and float off and you will not know until morning that the dink has been hijacked. Locking the dink just makes it more difficult and they move on.

I wish outboard motors had a steering lock like motorcycles. When you lock the fork of a motorcycle, it can only be moved in a small circle. That same principle could easily be applied to outboards. This would be simpler than locking the entire dinghy and motor to the dock.

It is real convenient to lock the dingy, gas can and outboard if the cable is long enough and the lock is well lubricated.

We always lock the dink, gas can, and motor to the dock.
Cable and lock supplied by the charter company.

Maybe a dumb question...where do you place your padlock from home?

Your padlock from home will probably corrode over a few days. Abus locks work great. Charter company should supply the hardware.

Susan, sorry but we stopped going to Foxy's dock at night years ago. We have had more than one problem with a well known local (won't name but I'm sure you know him) that tries to extort cash to leave dingy dock. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />