I saw another note on this board about stolen equipment. We have had some gear stolen recently. Given that our equipment tends to be very specific to catamarans and sometimes to specific models, it has a limited market - i.e. us! Could we use this thread to alert the community to stolen gear, and thereby a) get it returned to the victim and b) deter these crimes?

As an example, we lost a Hurricane 5.9 trampoline, the mainsheet, blocks, jib sheet and blocks from a Hurricane 4.9, and jib sheet and blocks plus other blocks from a Nacra 6. (The mainsheet blocks had been left on overnight for the first time!). Strangely enough an incomplete Hurricane 5.9 had just been sold on eBay in our area days before this happened, and someone saying they were the buyer was looking around our boat park three days before the thefts. Need I say more? If you see Hurricane 052 up for sale, or in use, I'd like to know!

We now advise members to remove their gear, and failing that to lock it. Mark the rest (scratches, sail number, etc) and photograph everything - especially those unique marks.

We are a tight community so let's make the thieves aware we can watch them as well as they can watch us - and they have nowhere else to use this gear.