PaulGooch
Well-Known Member
Sometime in the early hours of Thursday 1st Nov thieves entered Wisbech Yacht Harbour and took a 21 foot pilothouse boat from its pontoon mooring. The boat was later found about half a mile along the river, staked to the river bank by a large wooden oar, knocked into the bank, with it's £10,000 engine partially removed.
It's thought the thieves spent some time in the marina unbolting the engine and then they stole two large oars from a row boat nearby and used the oars to punt/steer the boat along the river in an ebb tide. They had made some makeshift staging on the river bank, where they knocked one of the oars into the bank and tide the boat to it.
The auxiliary outboard had been removed and placed in the cockpit and all of the main engine bolts had been undone. The top two bolts were removed, the engine had tipped and jammed. With the engine weighing in at about 190kg it would have been next to impossible for them to have got the engine off and they abandoned their attempts. It may also be that they were disturbed, as the almost new auxiliary engine, costing £1000 had also been left.
Fortunately for the owner, they didn't enter the cabin or do any damage to the boat. The only loss was some of the engine retaining nuts and bolts. A very, very lucky escape indeed.
So much for the much vaunted security in the marina http://www.fenland.gov.uk/article/4843/Yacht-Harbour. The marina boasts 24hr CCTV coverage and has key coded security gates at it's entrances. If there were any camera operators on duty, they saw nothing. Not surprising, as it's a very rare sight to see any of the three security cameras actually pointed into the marina. One camera, at the far end of the marina, which could be used for an overview of most of the marina seems to spend it's time looking across the road opposite the marina. The other two cameras, adjacent the newly built boat house both appear to be watching the boathouse. Marina owners and CCTV operators Fenland District Council seem more concerned with watching their nice new boathouse than they do with maintaining any form of security in the marina, despite claims made on the website above.
Recent incidents in the marina involving young children playing in the marina and on boats and older youths wandering around inside should have meant that security was somewhat heightened, but given that the thieves had to punt the boat along the river, passing within 20 feet of one camera, it seems that's far from the case.
Boat owners with annual moorings have access to the marina via two locked security gates with key card access. Visitors can access the marina by using a keypad. To my certain knowledge the key code has not been changed for at least a year.
It's thought the thieves spent some time in the marina unbolting the engine and then they stole two large oars from a row boat nearby and used the oars to punt/steer the boat along the river in an ebb tide. They had made some makeshift staging on the river bank, where they knocked one of the oars into the bank and tide the boat to it.
The auxiliary outboard had been removed and placed in the cockpit and all of the main engine bolts had been undone. The top two bolts were removed, the engine had tipped and jammed. With the engine weighing in at about 190kg it would have been next to impossible for them to have got the engine off and they abandoned their attempts. It may also be that they were disturbed, as the almost new auxiliary engine, costing £1000 had also been left.
Fortunately for the owner, they didn't enter the cabin or do any damage to the boat. The only loss was some of the engine retaining nuts and bolts. A very, very lucky escape indeed.
So much for the much vaunted security in the marina http://www.fenland.gov.uk/article/4843/Yacht-Harbour. The marina boasts 24hr CCTV coverage and has key coded security gates at it's entrances. If there were any camera operators on duty, they saw nothing. Not surprising, as it's a very rare sight to see any of the three security cameras actually pointed into the marina. One camera, at the far end of the marina, which could be used for an overview of most of the marina seems to spend it's time looking across the road opposite the marina. The other two cameras, adjacent the newly built boat house both appear to be watching the boathouse. Marina owners and CCTV operators Fenland District Council seem more concerned with watching their nice new boathouse than they do with maintaining any form of security in the marina, despite claims made on the website above.
Recent incidents in the marina involving young children playing in the marina and on boats and older youths wandering around inside should have meant that security was somewhat heightened, but given that the thieves had to punt the boat along the river, passing within 20 feet of one camera, it seems that's far from the case.
Boat owners with annual moorings have access to the marina via two locked security gates with key card access. Visitors can access the marina by using a keypad. To my certain knowledge the key code has not been changed for at least a year.
