boat owner

Yacht surveyor and designer Andrew Simpson cruises with his wife Chele in his

own-design 11.9m (39ft) yacht Shindig. Read his blog at http://www.offshore-sailor.com

Andrew Simpson

Monthly musings

T

here are few
more pleasurable
cruising spin-offs
than sitting on
the veranda of a
waterfront bar
watching crews from the
nearby anchorage arrive, either
in pursuit of stores from the
shops or simply to enjoy the
cool pleasures offered for their
amusement. The photo that
heads this page shows a scene
in Grenada, the southernmost
of the Windward Islands
which, together with the
Leeward Islands further north,
stand sentinel at the eastern
end of the Caribbean.
In such places, infl atable
dinghies are comparable to
the family car – essential bits
of equipment in a sailing
environment where, if only
on the grounds of cost alone,
anchoring is often the
preferred choice over the
marinas. This particular
anchorage is Prickly Bay, a
south-facing bay well protected
from the easterly trade winds
and boisterous seas that come
in from over the Atlantic.
Somewhere out there is Shindig.

As the photographer, of

course, I have succumbed to

temptation and am in the bar.

In view of their importance,

value and mobility, dinghies

and their outboard motors are

often stolen – not usually by

the locals, I’m told, but by

impoverished cruisers bent on

bolstering their cruising funds

by dint of some improvised

pilfering. Apparently, a French

yacht was boarded by customs

last year en route to Costa Rica.

It was found to have a dozen or

so outboards

on board. By

way of

explanation,

the skipper

claimed to be affl icted with a

rare psychological disorder

that caused him to have an

obsessive compulsion to

collect them. I am not a thief,

he claimed, but sick and

deserving of sympathy.

Of course, such incidents

aren’t confi ned to the

Caribbean. While we were

cruising the Ionian we heard

of an Italian boat bound for

Calabria containing a similar

number of infl atable dinghies.

The risks for both areas are

probably comparable.

Although intensely irritating,

these are relatively minor

criminal acts, more disruptive

than dangerous. However, very

much more serious crimes do

occur. Back in 2004, we were

heading south down the west

coast of Portugal and put into

Peniche, a busy fi shing port.

Hospitable as ever, the

Portuguese had provided a

handful of visitors’ berths

where we found an empty

slot and tied up. On the other

side of the pontoon was a

British yacht neatly secured

and with a hefty lock on its

main hatch. Its general tidiness

somehow had almost the look

of some permanence about it.

Later that day we were to

understand why.

It seems that the boat had

put into Peniche about three

weeks earlier. Its sole occupant,

a genteel Englishman nudging

towards elderly, was in a state

of some distress. He said his

wife had vanished overboard

while standing a solitary night

watch. His VHF was out of

order so he could summon

no assistance. He had spent

the whole of the next day

retracing their course in an

effort to fi nd her.

The response amongst the

locals was generous in its

compassion and magnanimity.

Fellow sailors sorted out the

boat for him; the local priest

arrived to console him; the

whole town joined him in his

grief. Until the news broke a

few days later that a fi shing

boat had recovered a woman’s

body in its nets; more

specifi cally, a woman with

her arms tied behind her

back and her ankles bound.

Identifi cation was swift. On

their boat were photographs of

the pair together. Never before

had sympathy evaporated so

quickly. Our worthy gent was

now in prison awaiting trial.

But back to our dinghies: how

can one minimise the risk of

theft? You hardly ever see it in

Europe, but tethering them

securely is the Caribbean

response – either with stainless

steel chain or plastic-coated

fl exible wire (such as is used for

guardwires) with swaged loops

at each end. Pass one end of

the tether through suitable

places on both dinghy and

outboard, and padlock the

other end to a convenient

cleat ashore.

Then there’s the defacement

deterrent. Your boat’s name on

the dinghy is a favourite ploy

and may help

identify you as

the owner if a

miscreant is

apprehended. For

short-term use you can even

use an indelible felt-tip pen.

Their ink fades rapidly in

the sun, but it takes no more

than a few minutes to restore

it. As for outboards, many

sailors apply stickers – the more

garish the better, and readily

available in the form of

promotional logos.

So the irony is that

adornments designed to

attract might actually deter

the light-fi ngered.

As for outboards, many sailors apply

stickers – the more garish the better

Take care to guard your own

A couple of simple initiatives might minimise the risk of

sailors having their dinghies and outboard motors stolen

‘In places such as Prickly Bay, Grenada, infl atable

dinghies are comparable to the family car’