An open letter to the Editor YM

DavidofMersea

DavidofMersea

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Dear Sir,

About three or four years ago, there was an item in Yachting Monthly about a stolen yacht. A reader spotted this yacht and it was returned to it's rightful owner.

This got me thinking, as Yachting Monthly has a worldwide circulation, a small item each month featuring a stolen yacht, would result in many stolen yachts being recovered. I put this thought on Scuttlebutt, and to my surprise there was a lot of support for this idea - but that was the last that was heard of it.

Sailing is our hobby and to us Yachting Monthly is just part of the sailing scene. But to you, as Editor, Yachting Monthly is a business, and it is your duty to your paymasters to increase circulation to a maximum.

When you saw this idea you may have thought that whilst such an idea may find stolen yachts, it would not increase circulation, and if this is your thought, may I respectfully disagree.

I believe that the motivation for reading such an item would be the same as that for watching the BBC's Crimewatch - a very popular programme which has been running for many years.

There are further reasons why a stolen yacht item would increase circulation. If priority were given to stolen yachts of Yachting Monthly subscribers, we would regard it as an effective additional insurance.

I am sure that Yachting Monthly would publish a follow up of yachts recovered as a result of the theft being published in Yachting Monthly, and I am sure that subscribers would feel good that "their" magazine, was helping to recover stolen yachts.

Such an item could be headed "No Hiding Place" for that is surely what it would be, because by it's nature, you cannot hide a yacht.

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I think eventually even plod would cotton on to IPC stealing a yacht each month, David. You should read MBY, instead - Sunseeker gave them a boat, they only have to steal our subscription money.

<hr width=100% size=1>Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione.
 
when my boat was stolen it was found by a reader who spotted it after reading a magazine article. (multihull international)

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A question should be added to registration/license papers: "Is this yacht stolen?"

That would make recovering stolen yachts considerably easier. /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

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How Many Yachts....

I support your idea.

But - How many yachts are stolen each year and from where ?

Does anyone know ?

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Re: How Many Yachts....

Well, when I stole mine I didn't tell anyone so no-one would know really, except perhaps the owner and he didn't want to look stupid so he never said.

I appear to be hijacking a sound thread for which I apologise - personally I'd like to see this being set up and run by the RYA with a good raft of legislation to make membership compulsory along with Certificates of Confidence and correct Ensign procedures etc.

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple>regards
Claymore<font color=purple>
/forums/images/icons/smile.gif
http://www.whoi.edu/services/facilities/CLAYMORE/
 
Re: Can I modify your idea.

YM and the other mags are chock full of adverts. Many from insurance companies. The insurance companies could incorporate the "reward poster" in their advert.

The only drawbacks I see with trying to do this in editorial is the lead time required. The longer a boat is gone the less chance of recovery. The mags would only have to put a few in that had been recovered for the Ed's to doubt the value of the system.

I'd have thought that YBW.com would be a better and quicker place to try this sort of thing.

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Re: Can I modify your idea.

>>I'd have thought that YBW.com would be a better and quicker place to try this sort of thing<<

Which is exactly what we already have:

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.ybw.com/cgi-bin/forums/postlist.pl?Cat=&Board=stolen>http://www.ybw.com/cgi-bin/forums/postlist.pl?Cat=&Board=stolen</A>

<hr width=100% size=1>Me transmitte sursum, caledoni
 
What\'s Lloyds doing?

Some years ago I met a guy who worked in a small dept that did nothing but trace (or try to) stolen yachts. I think there were two or three people tasked full-time. They had a data bank of stolen yachts rather like the Fine Art Register of stolen artworks. Don't they still do that? If not, why not?

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Surely you aren't suggesting people would deliberately lie in response to that question. That would be dishonest - and as we all know there aren't any dishonest blokes in the world. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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Re: Can I modify your idea.

Peppermint, you have missed the point when you say "The longer a boat is gone the less chance of recovery". Gone where? Yachting Monthly is an international publication, that is why I suggested a title of "No Hiding Place"

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Re: Can I modify your idea.

The problem with this is that nobody is going to look at a web site to see what boats have been stolen, why should they?

However, as readers are looking through Yachting Monthly, an item on stolen boats is likely to be read.

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The "Is this yacht stolen?" checkbox idea was posted with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

I'd frequent a web site listing of stolen yachts, especially if they were categorized by geographic location of theft. Doubt that I'd find a yacht stolen in the UK berthed in my marina here in the US.

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Re: Can I modify your idea.

With 10,000 odd registered users here, that's a fairly tidy number of people who read these forums that will be on the look out. I'm just glad it doesn't have to be used too often

<hr width=100% size=1>Me transmitte sursum, caledoni
 
Re: Can I modify your idea.

you have to change the drop down box at top left from whatever your default is, to show all, to see that it has been used a fair bit as there are no active threads in most peoples views as they are all over several weeks old

<hr width=100% size=1>Me transmitte sursum, caledoni
 
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