Sadly I have to report two robberies that happened in Utila, Honduras. We arrived here to visit a local friend and we were on anchor in East Harbour, our boat is a 50′ catamaran.

The first robbery happened on the 15th of June, 2015 while we were sleeping on board. 4 crew, none of us woke up. We realized the next morning we were missing a wetsuit, a pair of fins and a bootie, that got left out to dry from a previous dive. We posted on every Facebook page and spread around the world.

The second robbery happened on the 25th of June, 2015, also we were sleeping on board, none of us heard anything, but two dive tanks were missing by the time we woke up. We have massive tank holders on board so it is not so easy to open them up and get two without making any noise! … Also posted on every Facebook page, spread around the word and went to the port Captain to report the robbery, but to be honest he could not care less…

Because of this, we decided to leave although we really liked the island.

We are grateful no people got hurt!

Sara Hajdu
SV Pearl

Footnote: A cruiser who dives regularly has sent us this photo of how they secure their dive tanks on deck. This is a neat and inexpensive way to lock up your tanks – the stainless steel ring around the neck of the tank is the important element.