Security in the Mediterranean

[Scott Free]

Hi, I hope to be cruising the Med early next so I wonder if you could give me some of your experience as to the security that may needed on my boat, for instance do you use lights, alarms, or just a dog, or just a old-fashioned 12 bore shotgun LoL! Also there is the security with your tenders, and one other question I noticed the mention of rodents in some of your posts is there a problem with rats and I don't mean the two leged kind.
Thanks for the replies in advance and I will be seeing some of you next year.
I tried to post this earlier I hope it doesn't turn up apologies if it does,
Cheers and thanks again.

 

[Borden]

Security

August is the main month to keep your hands firmly on your valuables in Greece. The main culprits appear to be cruisers arriving from a large country to the west of Greece who tend to go foraging for nearly new equipment and fittings off your boat to replace their own. I was told of one who was caught red handed cutting instruments out of a boat moored in Tranquil Bay Nidri. The owners had gone ashore and he apparently claimed that he thought the boat had been abandoned.

 

[Tranona]

Don't think you will find security a mjor problem - certainly no need for dogs and 12 bore. Thousands of people cruise all over the Med without problems. Some of the tourist spots may have issues with pickpockets, but marinas are usually secure and anchoring in bays or against village quays is safe.

Rats can be a problem in some places but you can go years without seeing any.

 

[Carmel2]

Be as sensible as you would at home and you shouldn't go too far wrong, if you have dogs and shot guns at home please stay there.

 

[blueglass]

Hi, I hope to be cruising the Med early next so I wonder if you could give me some of your experience as to the security that may needed on my boat, for instance do you use lights, alarms, or just a dog, or just a old-fashioned 12 bore shotgun LoL! Also there is the security with your tenders, and one other question I noticed the mention of rodents in some of your posts is there a problem with rats and I don't mean the two leged kind.
Thanks for the replies in advance and I will be seeing some of you next year.
I tried to post this earlier I hope it doesn't turn up apologies if it does,
Cheers and thanks again.

you don't say where you intend cruising. generally though security is not a major issue. Avoid leaving boat unattended in some of the large conurbations (Naples comes to mind) and you should be fine, just take normal precautions.

 

[GrahamM376]

The main culprits appear to be cruisers arriving from a large country to the west of Greece who tend to go foraging for nearly new equipment and fittings off your boat to replace their own. I was told of one who was caught red handed cutting instruments out of a boat moored in Tranquil Bay Nidri. The owners had gone ashore and he apparently claimed that he thought the boat had been abandoned.

If the country you mean is south of the UK, then a German friend summed it up. We Germans equip our boats to go to sea whereas some of the ****** go to sea to equip their boats. Unfortunate reputation for the majority who are honest and friendly.

 

[little_roundtop]

Security is not a big problem in Greece or Turkey, except perhaps in the more populated areas around large town and cities.

A useful tip is not to write "tender to yourboatname" on your dinghy. If you must have it on there write it on the bottom or (as we do) just write the SSR or registration number on there.

The reason is that in a few places the thieves will walk along a quay at night writing down the boat names from the tenders. The presence of the tender on the quay means there is probably nobody on the boat at anchor.....

 

[Carmel2]

If the country you mean is south of the UK, then a German friend summed it up. We Germans equip our boats to go to sea whereas some of the ****** go to sea to equip their boats. Unfortunate reputation for the majority who are honest and friendly.

I have heard them all..............Lock up your gear because the (insert country of personal prejudice ) are here...........yawn!

 

[vyv_cox]

We have cruised the Med for seven summers now, west to east. Never had anything stolen, nor any particularly suspicious circumstances. OTOH we had an outboard stolen in Menai Bridge and a GPS in Porthmadog.

 

[KellysEye]

This is what we were wary of and the precautions we took.

- Pickpockets

- As implied above, most people equip their boats for cruising the French go cruising to equip their boats. They normally steal just before they leave.

- Use stainless chain to secure the dinghy. Put water hose on each end of the chain then padlock one end to the outboard engine lifting handle, then through the fuel tank handle, then to a stanchion

-Do not paint your boat name on the dinghy. If it is seen on a dinghy dock or beach the baddies know you are not at home

- Do not wear expensive jewellry or watches, muggers

- If you want to carry something expensive, such as a camera, use a local supermarket plastic bag to carry it, muggers

- Leave nothing expensive on deck

The best story about the thieving French was a Brit boat in the Chagos archipeligo. His wife was away with the dinghy visiting another boat so the French thought there was nobody on board. The skipper was down below and heard noises from the back of the boat. He went on deck and saw two French guys unbolting his Aries gear. When he shouted at them they said 'sorry wrong boat'. Err right.

 

[macd]

As others have said, security is often less of an issue than in many areas at home, with some of the exceptions noted. (Not so several places in the Antilles, as I know to my cost.)

Sometimes there are other 'security' issues: if your boat goes walkabout at anchor when you're ashore, it's a lot more likely to be saved by your neighbours if they can get access to it and start the engine. This is a real situation I've witnessed several times during the Meltemi. Which would you rather lose, a chartplotter or the entire boat?

And speaking of smaller boarders, cockroaches are even more of a pain than rattus rattus. So never, ever take cardboard packaging aboard: it can be infested with roach eggs.

 

[stuarta]

A useful tip is not to write "tender to yourboatname" on your dinghy. If you must have it on there write it on the bottom or (as we do) just write the SSR or registration number on there.

The reason is that in a few places the thieves will walk along a quay at night writing down the boat names from the tenders. The presence of the tender on the quay means there is probably nobody on the boat at anchor.....

That is a useful tip. Not that I have either tender or boat to employ it yet - but one day...

 

[macd]

That is a useful tip.

I've heard it several times but wonder if it's not something of an urban myth. Surely a more glaring sign that a particular boat is unoccupied is the complete absence of a tender from its vicinity? (For a very brief period a few years ago I had two tenders, at least one of which was always tethered to the boat: now that felt belt and braces.)

 

[RupertW]

I've heard it several times but wonder if it's not something of an urban myth. Surely a more glaring sign that a particular boat is unoccupied is the complete absence of a tender from its vicinity? (For a very brief period a few years ago I had two tenders, at least one of which was always tethered to the boat: now that felt belt and braces.)

I thought that too. Just thinking that if I was a thief I could:
A) Note down the names on all the tenders then go out to each of the dozens of anchored boats and check my tender list against each boats name and break in if there is a match
Or
B) Go out to the anchored boats and pick one without a tender

We have just had one thing stolen in a couple of years of Med sailing and that was a hose taken from the cockpit locker and not returned.

 

[blueglass]

We have cruised the Med for seven summers now, west to east. Never had anything stolen, nor any particularly suspicious circumstances. OTOH we had an outboard stolen in Menai Bridge and a GPS in Porthmadog.

I can almost carbon copy that experience - 7 years overseas with never an issue. OTOH outboard stolen in Holyhead and dinghy vandalised in Menai Bridge!

 

[Scott Free]

My thoughts are also on the economic problems in the Mediterranean, people do desperate things when they have no money but this was recently posted on the ybw I know this was in Panama but things nowadays change fast so some prevention and forethought must be used and that's why I was asking you all what precautions you take

Cruising couple have suffered a raid from thugs in Bocas del Toro, Panama, in which they were beaten up, bound and the wife repeatedly raped.

Yachting Monthly reader Dave Wyness and girlfriend Jennie know the couple and earlier had been anchored near them. Mr Wyness said: 'It was nasty. I talked to the couple a couple days later, they look very beat up, and in shock, but they are alive.
.

 

[Squeaky]

Cockroachs

Good evening:

This is a slight drift from the original question but cockroaches have been mentioned above.

Having had a number of cockroach infestations over some 30 years for which I tried any number of things. The best by far was Goliath Gel which was produced by Novartis for disinfecting commercial ships. A friend had obtained a tube in one of the gulf states.

It is expensive and is applied by a applicator/gadget similar to that used with silicon but much smaller.

The instructions said to put one small drop (match head size) for each cubic meter which I over did but I never saw another cockroach on my boat having tried almost everything over a ten year period. Didn't even find dead bodies - where they went and how it works I have no idea but it really worked. There was no noticeable odor.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Gol...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Cheers

Squeaky

 

[macd]

The poor couple's Panama experience is clearly horrific, but Panama is not the (European) Med. The Italian Waters pilot book contains warnings about one port in southern Italy where armed burglaries have allegedly occurred, but that is very much the exception. Generally speaking, you're at more risk in Glasgow. Or Manchester. Or London. Or even Wales, as Bluegrass and Vyv can attest.

 

[macd]

ref Squeaky's post on roach goos:
Not sure if it's available in Europe but 'Combat' sounds like similar stuff and is applied in the same way. It's US-made for public...er, consumption...and works brilliantly. (Correction: actually Korean-made, US-distributed).

http://www.combatbugs.com/product/source-kill-max-roach-killing-gels

 

[davids0865]

I find it very surprising that the French attract so much derision as thieves.

I live in France (as a Brit ex-pat) and can assure you all that as a race the French are significantly more law abiding than the English and in my experience most other european's, maybe except Spanish local government ( stands back for flaming ), I just wonder if it's more about the French/English friction that goes back decades than reality.