Posted 25 November 2011 – see Update February 2012 at bottom

There has been a recent bout of theft in Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, Kiribati.

In the last week and a half, three boats have been boarded.

One was entered using a spare key, unfortunately, not hidden well enough.

Another had the locks on their cockpit lockers broken.

The third (ours) had our door lock broken off completely. Whilst I cannot accurately speak for the other boats, our boat was rummaged through with over $6,000 worth of gear taken (computers, binoculars, mask etc.).

It appears that the boats are only being broken into when the boats are left alone in the anchorage (as in, no other yachts around). The day we were boarded, the other two yachts in the anchorage were tied to the pier getting fuel, therefore not very close to our boat and unable to see our cockpit.

But it does appear that the thieves are getting bolder each time. They are doing all of this in broad daylight.

We reported the theft to the local police. While they appear to be shocked, they don’t appear to be very eager to do anything about it. They asked us if we had any suspects.

Since we’re unable to get off of the boat without worrying, we’ll be cutting our stay here short.

Monica McKaskle

Update from Monica February 18, 2012

I wanted to provide an update on our experience with the theft in Tarawa. I cannot speak to whether it is still occurring but I can happily say that our stuff was not only found, it has been returned. We don’t have it in our hands yet (on a yacht in transit to the Marshalls) so I don’t know the condition, but we are shocked and pleased at the outcome. Evidently, the investigator took our complaint seriously and the thieves are now awaiting trial.

Monica

s/v Savannah