April 22, 2024: Update from SV Quokka2 skipper Julian Baker

Julian has reported to Noonsite that the Kiribati police have recovered all the items that were stolen along with a few extras that they hadn’t even noticed were stolen.

“So great work by the boys in blue,” Julian said.  “We left Kiribati a month ago and are busy diving Tuvalu outer islands and will arrange to have the items sent by DHL to Fiji, or find a cruiser on the way down from Marshalls to pick up.”

March 27, 2024:  Original report from SV Quokka2 skipper Julian Baker

In a first hand report, skipper Julian Baker told Noonsite the incident occurred on March 4, 2024, when they were anchored in the anchorage area of Tarawa – 700m from shore.  (See Incident update below).

“This is the normal place for boats checking in or out to anchor.  We were the only cruiser there. The nearest other boat was an island trader about 200m away,” Julian said.

“The boat was boarded at night while we were on board asleep.  They came up the sugar scoop and unfortunately we had left the boat open as it was a very hot evening.

“Stolen items included an esky (Ice Box/Chilly Bin) with dive gear inside that was tied down in the rear sitting area of the catamaran and a computer and wallet that was on the table inside the door to saloon, which we had left open.”

24 hour security organised

Julian said they had just returned to the boat after being away for three weeks and the incident occurred on their first night back onboard.

“We had arranged with a local shipping agent for 24/7 security and there was always a security guy on board in shifts, but they had no access to the inside,” he said.

“We reported the incident to the local police who indicated to us that security in Betio was not a problem.   Unfortunately we think the security guys, who we employed to look after our vessel while we were away, were somehow involved in the incident.

“I am going to wait a couple of months then blanket advertise the islands with a description of the esky which has a couple of distinctive cuts in it (done when I used it as a saw horse) and see what comes up. I also intend to advertise at every island council and we have a couple of local friends who will help with this.”

Julian Baker
SV Quokka2

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.

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