Missing a machete in Nevis

View from our boat in Nevis

Nevis has been in the news lately and that is not good news for this little piece of paradise. We arrived here about two weeks after the Supreme Court Justice was robbed by a machete wielding visitor. Our initial reaction- Will he have to recuse himself from People v. Chicago Cutlery?

Anyway, this high profile robbery has made us think harder about our security precautions; especially as we head further south.

Our dinghy is always locked, frequently chained, and not that appealing to a would-be thief because a) it's Maryland state markings make it easily identifiable; b) our outboard, at 8 hp, is never the most powerful at the dinghy dock and thus not the most likely to be stolen.

Our sailboat has only 4 hatches- all very heavy duty with strong locks. The companionway door is 3/8 inch solid wood with a keyed lock. We also keep hornet spray around - just in case. Oh, and I should also mention that the boat has a flare gun. "Hello Nevis Coast Guard.....I'd like to report a burning gentleman on a stolen dinghy".

We've also developed some additional measures.......our most amusing is the "fake booty" we have on board. Over the past two years we've saved broken iPods, old cellphones, obsolete cameras, etc. We also have an old wallet with my precious Giant Food card. When leaving the boat, we place these items on the table. Our hope is that an intruder would see this "bounty" and take the quick win and run off. Only later would it become apparent that nothing works and he's left with an iPod filled with Miley Cyrus "hits".

We've encountered cruisers who have gone much more "commando" than we have, including folks packing some serious heat. We're not big fans of weapons on board and our feeling is that they're more likely to get you in trouble than protect you. Our final fallback is what an old sailor once told me - God protects the drunk and the stupid. Here's to that.