Originally Posted by Christo
I just spotted this article: https://www.bviplatinum.com/news.php?articleId=30129

Whilst it seems to only refer to thefts from marinas I was wondering if anyone on here has ever had issues when on charter in the BVI?

When sailing our own yacht in the Caribbean we always locked the dinghy when going ashore and always locked it to the yacht overnight. Several friends who didn't use a lock had their dinghies stolen in the night...albeit those three thefts were Tobago Cays / St Vincent / St Lucia, not BVI.

When chartering in the BVI we have never locked our dinghy, not when going ashore and not overnight on a mooring. Does anyone? If so, do you bring your own lock? We have never been provided with one from Sunsail/Moorings.



Please continue to leave yours unlocked . That way a lazy thief will still yours instead of mine. :-) We have provided cables and locks for years and require our guests to lock them as a condition of insurance.

I was recently told by a member of law enforcement on St Thomas that a large number of dinghies are being stolen in Tortola/BVI to smuggle people into the US via St John. The federal government seizes boats when they are caught coming in. So the smugglers are stealing dinghies and having their "clients" dinghy over to St John to avoid bringing the big boats into US Waters.