From: http://sailingyahtzee.com/2019/12/04/theft-in-turtle-bay/

Theft in Turtle Bay – December 4, 2019

Walking up to our beached dinghy just after dark I quickly noticed something was missing — our outboard engine. “Someone stole our engine and gas tank!!” I yelled to Jill and our buddy Robbie who were a bit behind me.

Standing around the rubber boat — our family’s main mode of transportation — we were in shock, as we’d only been gone for 90 minutes. Rain fell and the wind seemed to provide a stiff slap in the face while we decided what to do next. With the boys back on the J/120 SUR playing with their friends, the most logical step was to report it to the police.

Back through the muddy streets we trudged and found a lone police officer in his office. Rather than an official form, which wouldn’t have made much difference anyway, he folded a blank piece of paper in half and handed us a barely serviceable pen to write a description of the engine and our phone numbers. “I’ll look for it,” he said, and away we went through the muck to row slowly and solemnly home in the rain and wind.

We hung around Turtle Bay for the next few days in hopes that the engine would turn up. But that was a waste of time. Not surprisingly, it was never found, which is a hard pill to swallow. I bought that outboard for $700 in Alaska and it was truly priceless. Not only was it the engine to our “family minivan”, but it was incredibly reliable and fun to watch the boys learn how to use. Unfortunately, buying an equivalent to it will cost much more. In the meantime, though, we’ll get stronger rowing to and from shore with four people, gear, groceries, and jerry jugs of diesel and water.

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