robbery on anchor at galatas (poros), greece

[OldBawley]

Since we ware burgled on Rhodes a few years back I made a very low tech alarm system.
A 1,5 € piezo alarm witch is activated by touching a extreme fine fishing line that I rig around the cockpit. I mounted the thingy on a piece of ply, the small magnet connected to the fishing line.
Fishing line fed trough some stainless steel rings placed on the corners of the aft deck.
Anyone moving on the back half of the boat will touch the fishing line, the magnet is pulled away and the alarm sounds.
Thingy is in fact a window opening alarm.
Low tech, low price, functions excellent. Takes just a few seconds to rig the line.
Once returned to our anchored boat and the alarm was on. No burglary. Swimming thief must have panicked and left. Boarding ladder was pulled down.

Our buglers war two “kids” who came swimming, transported my laptop and the rest in a polystyrene fish crate. I may have seen the crate “floating” in the dirty harbour, had no idea my stuff was in and a rat was under it. We rowed back when they ware still on board. First thing my wife saw boarding our boat ware the wet prints of small bottoms on the wooden cockpit benches.

 

[Gorman501]

Hi Sotty Dog,

Can you post a link to this technology you installed on your boat.

My sympathies to Dolphan, this must have been a horrible experience and it's a good warning for all of us to be more vigilant and careful with our personal belongings. Creating secret hiding places under buks maybe with velcro attached puches might be a good deterrant. There are always out of the way places on every boat to hide things.

Food for thought.
Thanks for sharing.
Paul

 

[Paddy Fields]

Often experienced theives leave Apple iPads/iPhone, because they can’t be unlocked. Oportunistic theives probably don’t know that, and Knick them.

 

[duncan99210]

Report on the Med Sailing FB group of another breakin in the same area.

 

[Mistroma]

Anchored at Galatas yesterday, not far from the small pier at the old camping site. We needed to go ashore for laundry and gas this morning and decided to stay for lunch. It should be OK during the day and there was also a small steel yacht not far away. However, it seemed sensible to alert the nearby boat in case he was planning to go ashore in the evening.

We stopped for a quick chat and found out that he had already been robbed a couple of days earlier on Sunday, 7th October. The thieves had taken 600 euro from his boat. He had visited that spot many times before and never had a problem in previous years.

An ex-pat later told us he had lunch with friends from Galatas a couple of weeks ago and their apartment had been broken into in the few hours they were absent. He also mentioned that another friend had chased off some people boarding a yacht moored in the channel.

 

[Mistroma]

Report on the Med Sailing FB group of another breakin in the same area.

I don't know if the Facebook report is from the guy I spoke to today. I don't really use Facebook but have a dummy account in case I ever needed to. I can try to join to check dates etc.

The guy who had 600 euros stolen last Sunday was German, I guess that might help to check if it's a duplicate report.

 

[nortada]

I don't know if the Facebook report is from the guy I spoke to today. I don't really use Facebook but have a dummy account in case I ever needed to. I can try to join to check dates etc.

What is a dummy account?

Is this the same as an Account for Dummies?

 

[Mistroma]

What is a dummy account?

Is this the same as an Account for Dummies?

Pretty much. I created it years ago in case I needed to use FaceBook for any reason. It has no useful personal information, name isn't correct, email address is only for anything likely to generate Spam. I have logged on to check it works as I did once think I might use it to access some information. Even then it was on a VPN and WiFi not traceable to me (not deliberate on my part, just connection in use at the time).

 

[nortada]

Pretty much. I created it years ago in case I needed to use FaceBook for any reason. It has no useful personal information, name isn't correct, email address is only for anything likely to generate Spam. I have logged on to check it works as I did once think I might use it to access some information. Even then it was on a VPN and WiFi not traceable to me (not deliberate on my part, just connection in use at the time).

Thanks, sounds a good idea.

As I understand it, your FaceBook account is an alias (fake account)

Following recent hacks, I believe FaceBook has taken down numerous ‘fake accounts’. Has your’s survived

 

[rotrax]

I can't see where you could bolt a safe inside a wooden or GRP boat where it couldn't just be jemmied off?

Richard

I did it quite successfuly on our previous boat, a heavy low tech key operated strongbox bolted top and side in a front locker. The access aperture was too small to get a crowbar or lump hammer in and the GRP was reinforced with 2mm S/S sheet with the bolt heads passing through. Six bolts, 14mm, nuts locked together and loctited so they just revolved inside without the strongbox open so they could be held.

Power angle grinder would have been the only way-but it takes a long time to cut 6x14mm S/S bolts. And the access to the 3 side mounted bolts with any tool would have been dangerous to the operator. The boat was an Island Packet, very heavy construction in the area I secured the strongbox-1 inch ply, 1/2 inch GRP on top, plus my 2mm S/S sheet.

Sold the boat-someone else getting the benifit now..............................

 

[GHA]

Thanks, sounds a good idea.

As I understand it, your FaceBook account is an alias (fake account)

Following recent hacks, I believe FaceBook has taken down numerous ‘fake accounts’. Has your’s survived

You can create a facebook account with a temp email address like from https://temp-mail.org/en/option/refresh/
No personal details linking you whatsoever. Just did it to check, took a couple minutes. Then kill the email address, just remember the password

Sometimes they seem to have a check but if you keep quiet then should be fine.

 

[Mistroma]

Thanks, sounds a good idea.

As I understand it, your FaceBook account is an alias (fake account)

Following recent hacks, I believe FaceBook has taken down numerous ‘fake accounts’. Has your’s survived

I logged on to check and it still seems to be fine. I doubt they'd be able to tell that details aren't correct very easily as I'm not exactly using it regularly. I don't let these accounts die but not a big job to re-create as GHA states.

I tend to use this type of thing when I don't want to be pestered with spam or need to get around some nuisance features. I have a few for a free private torrent site which lets me get access to F1 during the summer. It has a download/upload ratio limit which is a problem for occasional use in summer away from home broadband. I rotate accounts (+ one very good other trick) as a workaround. I do use genuine details for more important online accounts but even these get minimum information to make them workable.

A bit of thread drift into online security (sort of).

I spoke to my German neighbour yesterday and he hasn't reported his loss of 600 euro online. I guess that confirms at least 3 different boat thefts in a short space of time within a few hundred metres.

 

[sailaboutvic]

I had a FB account with the name of my old boat , once we sold the boat I change the name and got my FB account which I held for 10 years block , they said unless I sent them ID in a drive in lic , passport and also a house hold bill they wouldn't in block it , so ended up having to open a new account .
All I suggested is don't do anything to get them to ask you for ID , although you could do as I did and just open a new account .