TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Attempted Dinghy theft.Lock it! During the day!!

I know many of you are in hotels and villas, but for those on sailboats... Friday afternoon, around 4pm, we were anchored in Marigot Bay, and someone decided to swim out to our boat, climb on, and then proceeded to try to take the dinghy. We were down below, and when I heard noises, I confronted them, and asked them to get off my boat! They kept saying that they don't want to cause trouble, but NEED to take our dinghy. I said NO, and luckily our dinghy was locked to the transom with chain and lock. After a heated discussion, hejumped in the water, and swam away. I am sure that if the dinghy was not locked up, he would have taken it without us knowing.
I found out later on, that he continued to swim to another boat, and convinced the owner to give him a lift in his dinghy. As they headed towards Sandy Ground in the small boat, the local attacked the boat owner, and attempted to throw him in the water, and take his dinghy.
A boat nearby saw this, and came to the rescue, capturing the thief, and helping the victim.
The thief was tied up and delivered to the dock, where he was detained until the police arrived.


I guess it is getting to the point that you have to lock the tender to your boat, even during the day.

Keep safe, and happy cruising.

So scary! Glad you are ok, that could have turned out differently. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />

Agreed, very scary!!

Did you contact the Police and make a report with them too? Your additional charge could make the difference when this loser appears in court showing a pattern of his actions and not just an isolated incident.

Wow! That is a very scary story and very good advice to always lock your dinghy. Glad to hear that the thief was caught and all turned out well for the boat owners. We live in a very different world today and it seems to be progressively getting worse in many places.

This is common in Marigot. We always hoist our dinghy with a spare halyard. There is a FB SXM page and robbery is a hot topic.

You can read COMPASS and hear about all the robberies all over the caribbean. And when we lived in SBYC several dinghies were either stolen or the engine was stolen.
Very scary. And we had security.
The robbers swim to the property.
irina

Maybe they will try to steal a boat anchor and swim away with it <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

It's not only the Caribbean. My surfboard was stolen out of our dinghy when we were anchored off Fire Island. I heard a motor at 5 AM close to our sailboat, By the time I opened the hatch and came out on deck they were speeding away with the surfboard. Nothing I could do!

Then another time while in a marina, I hear footsteps on deck early in the morning. A guy was trying to untie the dinghy and steal it. I saw his feet walk past through the port hole. I came on deck to confront him and he jumped int the marina and swam away. How far could he go. I followed the wet footprints on the board walk and caught up to him. I took a swing at him and he jumped back in the marina. I let it ride! Again Fire Island.

Wow! Glad you're okay. How scary! It's amazing how bold thieves are. Karma baby. What goes around comes around. Take a moment and enjoy your sailing!

Wow! I worked in Ocean Beach one summer. Which town in Fire Island was it?
No, the guy that stole the motor did not swim away with it.
Thanks
irina

I have a number of friends who sail the Caribbean regularly, or are liveaboards. St Martin isn't as bad as Rodney Bay in St Lucia. Yet. But it's trying hard.