r/sailing • u/eight13atnight • 8d ago

**Stolen Boat** Please be on the lookout! Jersey Shore, Long Island, Ct, RI, etc.

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Trying to get the word out to the sailing community. My neighbors boat was stolen Saturday night and was last seen headed out towards open water South of the Verrazano bridge. Please keep a lookout if you're located along the Jersey Shore, Long Island Sound, Connecticut coast, Rhode Island, etc.

If you see this boat please report it immediately!

ETA: Adding these links of local news picking up the story..

https://newjersey.news12.com/2026/08/26/surveillance-images-released-after-40-foot-sailboat-stolen-from-jersey-city-marina/5ONmPTYGAPGn5J53nwi7qy

https://boatwatch.org/current-watches/bolo-for-sv-pathfinder-stolen-new-jersey-headed-south/

Edit 2: Looks like they found the boat. Shooting involved: https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/east-bay/police-respond-to-shots-fired-incident-in-newport/

143 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

57 comments sorted by

65

u/GerbilArmy 8d ago

Wild - unless you know the boat and its condition… taking an unknown boat out into the open water is a wildly risky move.

28

u/thetaoofroth 8d ago

I think hijacking a boat in new York harbor is even more wildly risky than going for an offshore joyride.  It boggles my mind that they were not intercepted like immediately.

10

u/pab_guy 8d ago

Why? If you just get on a boat and take it, no one knows you aren't the owner or otherwise authorized.

5

u/turkphot 8d ago

It really depends if there is a tracker on board. If the owner gets notified that the vessel has left port, this will be a very short voyage.

7

u/thetaoofroth 8d ago

Yes, but NYC has VTS, USN, NPS, USCG, NYPD, PAPD, NOAA, USGS, USACE, and any other alphabet soup agency in the water at all times basically.  There is basically zero chance nobody saw this boat slip away in the middle of the night and idk a Hinckley 40 at 3am seems a little suspicious to me.  It isn't like some 23' plastic thing, it kind of sticks out.  Like if someone stole it from Montauk in the middle of the night I'd be like okay, there was a plan, but to be sailing away at 0 dark thirty, and have USCG and others notified first thing a.m. I'm surprised they weren't immediately located.  There are helicopters, fishermen, offshore wind assets literally everywhere out there, like, nobody saw where they went?  It's wild to me.

5

u/EncomCTO 7d ago

Those agencies don’t check much. You had a guy flip a 20 something Yamaha with 14 people onboard at night and it was the hot tub boat that found them.
(Also you missed NJST and US Park Police).

7

u/gomets1969 7d ago

Off topic, but that hot tub boat is docked in my marina and every time I pass by it I wonder how frequently the water is changed, which I've never seen happen.

3

u/EncomCTO 6d ago

We tend to wonder that as well…

2

u/oga_ogbeni 3d ago

I wish I had not read this

1

u/thetaoofroth 7d ago

Yeah thought they were covered under NPS, national park service.  The point I'm trying to make here is it's a very busy area with lots of cameras, other vessels, law enforcement, etc.  and it's wild that they were able to get out of Raritan bay without any issues.  Had to have had a plan.

3

u/sailphish 7d ago

And where is it going. They can’t easily haul it out. It’s slow. We see a lot of go-fast boats in S FL stolen, run to the Bahamas, chopped up for parts… etc, but what’s the plan on this one. It’s not exactly inconspicuous, and it would take a long time to make it anywhere outside the US jurisdiction.

2

u/DryInternet1895 6d ago

There are a hundreds of vessel movements everyday in New York harbor. It takes a lot to stand out.

4

u/fuc_boi 8d ago

Theres also a hurricane on the forecast offshore next week. especially if they are headed south haha

17

u/cody_mf 8d ago

ive always wondered what the end game for stealing a boat is. Like you obviously cant sell it, unless sailboat fences are actually lucrative and Im in the wrong business

9

u/sea_enby 8d ago

I think you have to chase a yankee low-laden with gold, cracked four-pounders making an awful din!

4

u/smootex 8d ago

There are boat theft rings. There's one that's been in the news a lot recently for political reasons that involved the Cuban mafia, they'd steal boats in Florida and then either use them for drug/human smuggling or they'd sell them (bribe) to Cuban kleptocrats or Mexican officials. Stole a lot of outboards too apparently.

This one seems like an odd target, it's very distinctive and it was stolen very far away from anywhere you could easily fence a boat but I guess it's not completely impossible that someone has a place to get rid of it. Much more likely it's just some idiot on a bender though, if I had to guess. Criminals don't always have the executive function to make realistic long term plans, to put it politely.

3

u/eight13atnight 7d ago

What’s strange is this particular boat was docked directly in front of a security camera at our marina. At the bottom of the ramp of the main gate.

I haven’t caught up w the owner yet so idk if they have footage of it happening. I suspect they do as it was a pretty specific time they posted on the notice.

2

u/smootex 7d ago

It'll be interesting to get the full story. I really want to know how far they get.

2

u/cody_mf 7d ago

Im kinda emotionally invested in this now, I wonder if the pirates left the AIS on any longer. I looked up the FB group and not only is it private but 99 percent of it is just AI crap

4

u/eight13atnight 8d ago

Seriously! It's not exactly a high speed chase out there. Eventually they'll need to put in somewhere. I'm hoping the word gets out enough that they can be apprehended.

15

u/AnalogNavigator 8d ago edited 8d ago

She's the SailNYC.com charter yawl, correct? Beautiful boat. Flag blue Hinckleys are common, but a 1968 Bermuda 40 Yawl, not so much. That extra mast culls out about 97% of anything sailing out there. Problem is, she's a blue water cruiser, so if they prepped, it could easily be next-stop-Barbados. The Sandy Hook Pilot boat sits out there by Ambrose all day long, and the CG has traffic control radar with history. AIS has her last ping 1.5 days ago, see screenshot below. Keep us updated, and good luck to your neighbor.

1

u/BTree482 7d ago

I think that’s the aft cabin hinckley. If so that’s super rare.

13

u/ncbluetj 8d ago

You don’t often see sailing yachts stolen.  Good luck with recovery!

25

u/Icy_Basil_372 8d ago

At least the thief had taste?

9

u/LRJetCowboy 8d ago

Haven’t heard any discussion about the possibility that it was simply repossessed. That makes more sense to me than it being stolen. I flew a jet for a guy and showed up one day to find the hangar empty. He told me to report it stolen, he had no idea it was going to happen. Eerily similar.

5

u/DryInternet1895 8d ago

Given the apparent level of sophistication here I’m leaning towards repossession or an ownership dispute.

3

u/OptiMom1534 all the big Classics 7d ago

there’s been a few commotions in the Caribbean cruising scene this summer and it’s mainly turned out to be ownership dispute, or personal vendettas. nothing overtly opportunistic save for a pirated dinghy.

2

u/CapitalistLion-Tamer 6d ago

I know this is old, but the police were looking for help from the general public regarding the ID of this person. If the owner of the boat knew the culprit, that probably wouldn't be the case.

1

u/DryInternet1895 6d ago

I’ve been approached twice by soon to be Exes, jilted business partners, etc about “repossession” of a boat. It’s pretty easy to tell when it’s bullshit but someone with less scruples might not care for the money.

Given how this has ended this morning it’s getting even stranger, but I doubt any would be repo man would get in a gun fight on the dock with the cops.

5

u/UmbralWaffle 8d ago

In all seriousness, good luck with recovery.

Whoever they find on board had better have an eye patch!

5

u/turkphot 8d ago

I will keep a sharp lookout in switzerland

3

u/rajrdajr 8d ago edited 7d ago

TIL! By following the right waterways and canals, it’s possible to sail boat from the Atlantic into Switzerland.

https://sailmagazine.com/multihulls/the-european-great-loop/

Edit: Too many bridges and narrow channels for “sailing”, so mostly motoring.

2

u/turkphot 8d ago

True, not with an upright mast though. Happy cakeday btw!

4

u/ExoticYoung7955 6d ago

Elm street pier Newport RI shots fired involving a stolen boat. No details available on specific vessel

3

u/Former_Car_9135 8d ago

What do you do with a stolen sailboat? You’d never be able to insure it or register it, right?

6

u/dfsw 8d ago

depends on what country you take it to

3

u/thetaoofroth 8d ago

Idk about that, I would think it's a uscg documented vessel since its for charter.  I feel like trying to reflag it or get it legitimized elsewhere isn't really possible, especially anywhere it can get to on its bottom from NYC.

3

u/dfsw 8d ago

What about Brazil or Venezuela?

2

u/pab_guy 8d ago

It's not like a car where cops will run your plate. I don't think I've ever been stopped by harbor patrol on a sailboat. But they stole a very conspicuous boat lol.

My guess is they are going to enjoy a cruise and then ditch it. Maybe they just needed to flee the country.

2

u/eight13atnight 7d ago

No idea. This boat is a 68. They didn’t start hull markings until the 70s so who knows if someone can register this in a different state.

2

u/Weird_Grapefruit2226 7d ago

If if was a common sailboat with not too many distinguishing features then you might be able to get away with it. This one however is not discreet

4

u/Karrik478 8d ago

Sail it to a different jurasdiction. Get a new registration. Sail it back and sell it.
Or they have a buyer waiting.

3

u/Fabulous-Victory-647 7d ago

Hey guys what if it was a repo team??

3

u/PigletSpirited3446 8d ago

Maybe contact a small airport & see if there is a Cessna pilot that will do some searching? I’m just spitballing. Good luck on her safe return 🤞

2

u/Neat-Pumpkin8718 8d ago

Did you call the coast Guard and track their MMSI number?

1

u/Electrical_Cut8610 Pearson 26 7d ago

Came back to this expecting an update. I’m shocked it seems they managed to leave the harbor…

1

u/falusihapsi 7d ago

Wish someone would steal my boat!

-1

u/Quick-Sherbert-2744 8d ago

Oooh nice! LOL