This theft happened on Dec. 30th, 2012.

There were a total of 3 boats anchored in the bay. In the middle of the night, 3 men and a teenager in a panga were presumably attempting to steal the dinghy which was raised, with motor, on davits off the back of the catamaran. The teenager was dropped off aboard to cut it loose, but he was not equipped to deal with the chain.

The screen door to the main cabin was closed but not locked, as we all had never heard reports of anything beyond dinghy theft. The person entered the cabin and quickly grabbed everything he could, including the backpack which was packed with cameras, wallets, and money for the early morning jungle tour.

The sound of footsteps on deck awakened the owners who came out yelling. The thief jumped into the water and swam back to the panga waiting close by. Using a strong flashlight the owners got a good look at the white panga with black motor, and the teenager, but the men’s faces were covered with hoods.

A full report was given to the police in San Blas the following day. The folks at Fonatur/Singlar marina in San Blas could not have been nicer or more helpful, going out of their way to help with reporting the incident. This is where I would leave my boat if for some reason I felt the need to stop in that area again – though as a result of this we will probably bypass the area entirely. If you do need to stop at Matanchen, just don’t leave the boat unattended, have a good chain on your dinghy, and lock yourself and your belongings inside at night.

The jungle tour operator lost out on 5 customers.

The town and bay restaurants lost out on New Years Eve revenue from 5 hungry, thirsty cruisers.

It is sad that a few bad people hurt so many besides their intended victims. The no-see-ums didn’t help either.