July 23, 2008

Boat wide open while we slept in “Marina de Las Palmas” (Muelle Deportivo) with a lock on the gate at the head of pontoon number 17.

Burgled at night while we slept. LOST… Captains computer on the chart table, captains girlfriend backpack with wallet and credit cards, I lost a canvas tote with my collection of dream gizmos. Stabil/binocs, ITT nite scope, GPSmap76cs and acc, celestial calculator, noise canceling headphones. Valise with clothes had been shuffled through.

Pontoon 17 is sort of on the fringes and not a lot of activity. The head of the pontoon has a locked gate. We were asleep and the boat was wide open. The marina staff was very cooperative and a report was filed with the local police. Marina reaction was that this was a rare event.

I leave it the reader to figure out what precautions should, could be taken. “Be careful out there!”

In the end, many many more nice people than not and it has been well worth it to have the experiences and nautical education.

George Ray

Note from noonsite

Muelle Deportivo is a public marina and therefore does not have the same security measures in place as a private marina. Although the pontoon gates have locks, they are frequently left open by the crew and therefore anyone can enter the pontoons. It is best to adopt the policy of locking your front door at night and not leaving anything of value visible on the deck or in the cockpit.