For years we've made it a habit to hang the dinghies on halyards at night. It's part of what we call the "Galactic way" - our general approach to operating the ship. If the dinghies are hanging out of the water, they're a lot less likely to go wandering in the night.
On this last haulout, I saw that the topsides paint was getting scratched up where we hang the dinghy. So ever since we left Valdivia, we've been leaving both dinghies in the water every night, tied to the stern, just like most every other traveling sailboat does.
You can see where this is going.
Last night someone cut the painter of the Little Dipper, our hard rowing dinghy. And it is as gone as a dinghy can be.
We're going to miss that little boat. Elias has rowed around a bunch of anchorages in it all by himself, and we had some ripping sails with it at Amanu last season. We still have the sailing rig, if you're interested.
So, over seven and a half years of sailing we've now had two outboards and a dinghy stolen. I wonder if this makes us slow learners?
Oh what rubbish news! There's not much consolation to be had but in answer to your question.... well no, not necessarily. As I'm sure you already realise, it's all too easy to slip into a kind of fortress mentality in response to the risk of this kind of thing. Sadly that tendency is insidious and ultimately impacts on how we relate to the places and particularly the people we encounter.
ReplyDeleteSo, there's a balance to be struck. It sounds to me like you probably have it about right.... but that doesn't make it any easier when you have to spend time and money trying to find or replace your lost tender. Good luck with that and good cruising.
Meanwhile, thanks for your intelligent and entertaining writing. It's helping me make it through a long cold winter in Northern Europe prepping the boat for the next trip.
Peter
Thanks, Peter…those are some good thoughts about the fortress mentality and how it can affect your interactions… Unfortunately, we sometimes remember why we're defensive only after we forget to be, if you follow me...
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