(and almost new Yamaha 2hp outboard) was not hanging off the back off
the boat where we had left it last night. We had been comfortable
that crime was minimal here so we didn't bother to haul it out as we
usually do. This is really bad, basically like finding your car not
in the driveway when you live in suburbia. You can't go anywhere!
We immediately called our contact in Barbuda and the Barbuda police
and both promised to look further. Then we went on VHF channel 16 and
issued a Securite call about our missing dinghy. Not thirty seconds
later we got a call back from a boat who had listened to the "Coconut
Telegraph" this morning (a cruiser net on the single side band radio)
and heard a report of a boat named Verna Breeze that was sailing to
St. Barths and had picked up a drifting dinghy seven miles offshore!
Thirty seconds after that call, another cruiser hailed us, said they
had heard about our situation and offered to provide any help they
could, ferrying us to shore, etc. Really great support from the
neighborhood!
We've called the port captain in St. Barths and asked them to let us
know if the boat checks in at St. Barths. Tomorrow morning we'll join
in on the Coconut Telegraph and see if we can contact the boat that
picked up the dinghy. At this point we're hoping that rather than
being stolen it was a case of me doing a sloppy job of tying up the
dinghy! We may be making an unplanned return to St. Barths.
Stay tuned for more on this breaking story!
