This is an excerpt from a report by SV Rainbow Safari on Pontianak.

We spent three days in Pontianak in October 2019 with our 45-foot catamaran.

We read the Noonsite theft reports from earlier yachts. Each of the officers and everyone we met warned us of thievery and advised to stay safe and keep the boat locked. We anchored in the river one night and kept a watch. Maybe our flashlight deterred a small boat from approaching.

False sense of security

We spent two nights at the Harbour Master dock and while the stream of local visitors for photos was a bit much, we felt safe: the Harbour Master staff watched our boat, we knew the other people on the dock from the tugs, customs, police boats. This gave us a false sense of security.

The entire crew wanted to go for a birthday lunch, so I asked the Harbour Master whether we should employ a security guard. He advised his staff could keep an eye out and it should be fine.

We went out to the mall for lunch with the boat locked. During this time our dinghy outboard was stolen from the ship. 

The outboard was on the dinghy and the dinghy raised on the davits. We believe the theft occurred between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. during a thunder shower, as this is the only time we left the boat. It was not returned and we never found out what happened. We bought a new outboard in Bali.

If you do stop in Pontianak for provisioning a deck watch should be kept at all times and the boat not be left unattended.

Stefan Hirsch

SV Rainbow Safari

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.