The very helpful international web site for cruisers ‘Noonsite’ , the more specific Caribbean Safety and Security Net (CSSN) and the Caribbean Security Index (CSI) carry advice and catalogue incidents involving cruising yachts.

I guess if you read reports of crime from around the world, you would not travel and the cruising fraternity, with the advent of the internet, are very good at reporting incidents. So it was that, convinced by Simon and Jenny on Fenicia,  whom I met in Albufeira on the Algarve, I decided to design and source substantial security bars for the two main hatches so that they could be left open with no fear of unwelcome visitors. It was important that the bars would occupy a minimum of space when not in use and the design allows for them to be compressed and the ends which secure the bars within the hatch aperture, swivel to reduce the depth required.

The padlock is one of the ‘keyed alike’ padlocks used on board and we take care to keep a key close to the bars so that they can be readily removed should a rapid evacuation be required.

We used the bars extensively throughout the Caribbean, both day and night and although they proved unnecessary, we all slept better (and cooler) for them being in place.

A problem of longer passages is just how to address the problem of the accumulation of rubbish, mainly from plastic food packaging. This can be bulky and inevitably becomes smelly in the warm conditions. We came up with a novel solution to both seal and compact the refuse so that it could be stored flat in the bilge pending disposal in the Caribbean. We used a home-made adaptor which slotted into the end of a re-chargeable vacuum cleaner and cheap vacuum storage bags. Simple !