Powersalt
Well-Known Member
Having just come back from a great weekend boating I must share with you this experience and hope it may keep you vigilant in marinas.
We got to Granville in the Stmalo bay, reversed inot a finger pontoon on the visitors jetty, and by the end of the day it was full with a mixture of brits and french, motor and sail. Anyway after a good night out we turned in, but were woken by a sort of bump in the night, you know the sort of noise that a skipper knows is not right. It was falt calm the boat was quite after the initial bump. It was about 2 am I looked around could see nothing wrong and turned back in to sleep.
Some how I couldent settle and a sixth sense got me out of bed at 3.30 am looking out the windows. I saw a man going along the pontoon with a white pencil torch light, looking in the mobos stern. I saw him get on one boat and adjust the valcro on the canvas aft closure. The individual reached my boat swept the cockpit with the torch and moved on. He seemed to spend more time with the motor boats rather than the yachts. I turned in again pretty impressed that the french have such security, and that they would even check covers when its not windy............ then reality dawned on me. He was no security guard.....but a bloody thief. I was out on the jetty within 2 mins but there was no sight of him at all. So beware you just dont know what goes on when you turn in at night.
OH and about my noise that first woke me up. Well I was just getting ready to leave in the morning when our neighbour asked if I knew that my ensign was missing and the pole broken at the holder. Just a stump showing. So someone had got me earlier.... must have been pretty brut force to break it of at the base, no wonder it made a noise, MInd you cant see the point in steeling an ensign...seems more vandalism
We got to Granville in the Stmalo bay, reversed inot a finger pontoon on the visitors jetty, and by the end of the day it was full with a mixture of brits and french, motor and sail. Anyway after a good night out we turned in, but were woken by a sort of bump in the night, you know the sort of noise that a skipper knows is not right. It was falt calm the boat was quite after the initial bump. It was about 2 am I looked around could see nothing wrong and turned back in to sleep.
Some how I couldent settle and a sixth sense got me out of bed at 3.30 am looking out the windows. I saw a man going along the pontoon with a white pencil torch light, looking in the mobos stern. I saw him get on one boat and adjust the valcro on the canvas aft closure. The individual reached my boat swept the cockpit with the torch and moved on. He seemed to spend more time with the motor boats rather than the yachts. I turned in again pretty impressed that the french have such security, and that they would even check covers when its not windy............ then reality dawned on me. He was no security guard.....but a bloody thief. I was out on the jetty within 2 mins but there was no sight of him at all. So beware you just dont know what goes on when you turn in at night.
OH and about my noise that first woke me up. Well I was just getting ready to leave in the morning when our neighbour asked if I knew that my ensign was missing and the pole broken at the holder. Just a stump showing. So someone had got me earlier.... must have been pretty brut force to break it of at the base, no wonder it made a noise, MInd you cant see the point in steeling an ensign...seems more vandalism
