Boat Watch Incident History

2004

Year 2004 ended with the very unfortunate Tsunami incident in S.E. Asia. We're pleased

to report that we heard of no fatalities among the mariners located in the affected area,

and we wish to report just a few of the many success stories which came our way. We have

created a dedicated section for Tsunami related information along with several very

informative Internet sites. (click here).

Prior to the Tsunami incident, we reported the following incidents, shown in descending order.

12/16/2004 Must contact S/V KIWI in San Blas Islands for Urgent H&W msg. Contacted and phoned

home within 2 hours of our alert.

12/16/2004 S/V NO KAOUI overdue Ensenada to Puerto Vallarta, Mx. Contacted same day, all well on board.

12/06/2004 S/V MIYA overdue Hawaii to Japan. Vessel contacted 12/15/2004, all is well.

12/13/2004 M/V SONRISA, overdue Corona Del Mar, Cal to Magdalena Bay, Mx, located/contacted 12/14.

11/25/2004 S/V ASYLOM overdue San Diego to Ensenada, Mx. Located 11/27 at Naval Pier, Ensenada. All okay.

11/22/2004 M/V "No Bad Days" overdue from San Quintin to Puerta Vallarta. Located same day (11/22), all safe on board.

11/11/2004 S/V Riverdance near Union Island, Grenadines, urgent message to call home. Located/Contacted phoned home, 11/12.

06/24/2004 S/V Mary C, overdue Cabo San Lucas to Fiji.  Located, headed to Society Islands, all okay (06/24)

06/21/2004 M/V Ceresco, Deltham Arbor, Alaska, urgent message to call home.  Closed within 6 hours.

06/14/2004 S/V Damiana, El Salvador, crew in Guatemala hospital, need to notify caretaker of boat, closed in 30 min.

05/27/2004 S/V Jennifer, Martinique to Caracas, urgent message to call home..contacted 05/31 on Granada, phoned home..

05/21/2004 S/V Chimere believed to be near Roatan, urgent message to call home.  Boat contacted same day, phoned home..

05/13/2004 M/V Tortuga over due La Paz, Mex. to Stockton, Ca, contacted; all is well on the boat, 05/13/04

04/12/2004 S/V Mamouna over due Panama to Equador.  2 POB.  Reported safe in Equador, 04/13.

04/08/2004 Sport Fisher Argus w/5 POB overdue Cabo San Lucas to SanDiego.  Contacted 04/08  in Ensenada, all is well.

03/30/2004 S/V Ancilla, Belize to Cancun, urgent message to call home.  04/01, message delivered, phoned home.

03/17/2004 S/V Chessie, St Maarten or vicinity, urgent message to call home.  03/20, message delivered, phoned home..

03/05/2004 S/V Cadenza, overdue off Baja California.  Vessel located Turtle Bay (Baja) 03/06/04, all is well on board.

03/05/2004 S/V Glide stolen Grenada, could be in Europe.  Owner wants to recover vessel from ex husband. (closed, no success)

02/25/2004 S/V Endeavor, 30' San Juan with one POB overdue Costa Rica. Vessel contacted 03/06, all is well.

02/17/2004 S/V Cythera, 50' Ketch abandoned off of Jamaica after losing rudder, Recovered by Jamaican CG, 02/18

02/14/2004 S/V Fairweather, Windward Islands, not heard from several weeks, family worried.  Located and contacted 02/15

01/04/2004 S/V Tropikat arrived safely in Bequia after 44 day passage from Las Palmas on 01/05/04.. family was worried.

01/16/2004 New Beneteau 57' Sloop reported stolen, Charleston, S.C.  FBI thinks it is headed south.  Located 01/29/04,

see following text:

Story last updated at 9:13 a.m. Friday, January 30, 2004

Stolen luxury yacht found shipshape

Police lack suspects after tip leads to boat at Bahamas marina

BY STEVE REEVES
Of The Post and Courier Staff

A luxury yacht stolen under the cover of darkness from Charleston's City Marina on Jan. 7 was found Wednesday night near the town of Freeport, a playground for the rich and privileged on Grand Bahama Island.

Investigators still don't know who sailed the vessel 500 miles to Freeport or why.

Acting on a tip, Bahamian police and U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency agents found the $750,000 Beneteau 57 in good condition at Running Mon Marina and Resort, investigators said Thursday. The yacht, which is owned by Atlanta physician Glen McIntosh, is one of only 35 built so far and the only one in North America.

PROVIDED

This sailboat, stolen Jan. 7 from Charleston's City Marina, was recovered Wednesday night by U.S. agents and Bahamian police.

"The boat has been secured," and the owner's insurance company is making arrangements to sail the boat back to Charleston, FBI Special Agent Robert Derr said Thursday.

The sailboat could have gone unnoticed for weeks at the nearly deserted marina, which has a reputation for criminal activity, Derr said. The Beneteau 57 was one of two boats docked at the 70-slip marina.

"A number of stolen boats have been recovered from this particular marina over the years," Derr said.

Freeport is a major tourist destination that attracts 1 million visitors each year. Its deep-water port is home to at least six cruise lines. The 30-room Running Mon Marina and Resort is closed for refurbishing, according to its Web site.

The town of Freeport, a 230-square-mile free trade zone established in 1955 by the government of the Bahamas, is at the crossroads of routes between European and North and South American trade links and international shipping transiting through the Panama Canal.

The yacht's owner, who bought the sailboat one week before it disappeared from City Marina on Lockwood Avenue in Charleston, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Police are focusing their investigation on finding who stole the sailboat, which has a 75-foot mast and weighs more than 47,000 pounds, said Lt. J.E. Williams of the Charleston Police Department.

"We've got some good leads, and we feel confident we'll get to the bottom of it," he said.

Williams said this is the first time he's investigated "a boat theft of this scale."

"It's a good feeling to know we recovered it," he said.

One question that troubles Chuck Laughlin, the owner of St. Barts Yachts in Charleston, who sold the Beneteau 57 to McIntosh, is how the thief or thieves were able to slip aboard the yacht and sail into the night unnoticed.

"I hope they catch the people who did it so we can see what the process was and learn what we can do to keep it from happening again," Laughlin said.