Maui warning

[headmount]

Car burglary and board theft is an ever present problem .. probably everywhere, however recently things have seemed to accelerate here on Maui.  I've heard of ten boards in just the last month.  I realized I would feel like crap if someone came here to visit and got their valuable board ripped off.  So here's the drill.  Don't leave your car parked with your board at any big parking lot where you can't see your car... for instance when you go shopping.  Five minutes is all they need.  These guys are brazen.  Go to where ever you're staying and drop your boards in a safe area, then go shopping.  A little hassle but with the cost of boards... well worth it.  I wish it wasn't so.  Sorry.   I hate to have this siege mentality, it makes me angry but that's the way it is.  I know there's a few guys coming in the spring and race season and want everyone that does to have a great time.  Hopefully they'll get caught soon.

[gr8laker]

Thanks  for the heads up.  So far so good, and we also upgraded our rental to a big van today just so we could stay flexible and keep boards with us.

Thinking Hookipa first thing tomorrow morning.  South shore has been a lot of fun the last couple days, but I'm ready to step it up now.

[jdmotes]

 Man; that sucks big time!... Guess aloha is taking a vacation out there. It's been a while since I was there but never had to worry much about board theft. Maybe I was just lucky...     Later,         JD

[jordanzs]

I'm on Oahu, but still......

.....Are boards just being stolen from racks, or are cars getting broken into & having the boards taken out?

I have a 1998 4runner, and I can lock my 10'3" board inside of it, and I have an alarm.  Yes, I know that when alarms go off, bystanders don't do much, but I would hope that they'd at least "notice" an alarm going off and a SUP being yanked out, enough to get a description of the alleged thief.

[headmount]

Off the racks is what I've heard.  I just had my king cab window smashed in a few days ago when I was parked at a semi remote location. I had nothing inside and no boards on top... just out for a foot run to turn the heart over.  Shoulda left it wide open since that was the case.  But when I spoke to others about what happened to me, they were saying, that's nothing I just lost my board.  It turned out ten boards had been lifted in the last few weeks and that's just in the small circle I know.  A very well known paddler friend told me and PonoB how he had chased down a guy who he saw with his stolen board on this guy's car.  Cut him off and stopped him,  retrieved his board, then got in the guys face.   Guy had a story how he got it from someone else... of course.  I doubt if anyone would want to be facing this particular paddler when he was furious.   Anyway our friend told us he was getting a cable and lock system for his boards.  PB pointed out that most well equipped thieves have bolt cutters but our friend said he just wanted to make it a little harder for them.  I got a strong feeling when I spoke to the cops that this is the work of a small group.  It would be a mistake to say that aloha has taken a vacation.  The vibe is still great.  We just have to get rid of a few varmints.  I think everyone here is on the look out now.  It's a small island.

[PonoBill]

Actually it only takes one guy to make a crime wave, but I suspect it's more than one. All very recently though.  Frank Forbes got his truck stolen at Kite Beach the other day--white truck with lots of lightning bolt stickers on it. He was at a party and had his keys in his pocket. Was never more than a hundred or so feet from the truck. I think Brian (gecko) said it's a pathfinder.

A week ago another guy had his truck swiped at Kanaha.

I came back to my jeep at Kanaha Saturday afternoon after stopping to take a look at the waves and a guy had the door open and was reaching under the dash. I made run at him but he got away. Very grubby looking haole guy. I told the park Ranger about him and gave him as good a description as I could.

If I spot him again I'll run him over to slow him down a bit. I'm not very fast on my feet, but I'm pretty quick in a jeep.

I had the keys in my hand, but the spooky thing is he was reaching up where I usually hook them on a wire under the dash. Might be a coincidence, or the guy might be really watching folks.

[Puamana4me]

Two paddles stolen at Costco /Kahului couple  weeks ago, SUP board stolen yesterday in  Kihei  (both incidents reported on Maui Craigslist).

This BS is so not Maui.

We still leave  our boards and bikes out  here in Lahaina, guess it's time to lock up.

[808sup]

My friend found these two going through his truck at kitebeach in Dec. Owen Murray & Joy O'neill. The police are familiar with them but as far as I know they are still at it. He said they were driving a white Suv ( possibly a ford explorer )  Reminds me to take some pics. of my boards. That way if they are stolen it gives people a better chance of finding them. Don't buy gear on the cheap as we all lose. No market for stolen stuff= less stolen stuff! I have pics. of the culprits but haven't figured out how to post them. They were scanned to my desktop in jpeg. 

[PonoBill]

The cops know most of the morons that are doing this. There are a few families that seem to be little hotbeds of local crime, some of them are in jail at any given time. The rest are waiting to be caught. I was talking with a Maui cop last week when the guys car got stolen, and he said they were pretty sure who is doing this stuff, but they can't just go grab him.

[paddlesurf.net]

Are the cutting right through those straps with the steel cables sewn into them?

[PonoBill]

Nope, which is why I still have my boards. Steelcores work great, as long as you remember to lock them. I push my paddles under the rack on the roof of my jeep and take a turn around the handle of the paddle before cinching down the strap. It''s not foolproof, but close. I generally have my distance paddle under my downwind board and my surf paddle under the surfboard. Unlock the straps and everything is good to go.

[808sup]

Don't be fooled into thinking the steel core straps are theft proof! I could get them off just as fast.  A good watchdog might be a better deterrent.

[beaglebuddy]

Only the occasional board is lifted from a tourist's rental car here on Kauai, the place is just too small and no one would want to get caught riding someone Else's board, TBS, Maui is rather small as well and one has to wonder how the thieves plan to fence these goods?
Of course it's just one or two lowlifes who are either just out of jail or who have a new business plan that (IMHO) might involve sending the boards to Oahu via Young Bros barge where they could easily be fenced without the issues on Maui, just a thought, probably giving em' too much credit.

[PonoBill]

Don't be fooled into thinking the steel core straps are theft proof! I could get them off just as fast.  A good watchdog might be a better deterrent.

I've had my steelcores razored twice since I got them four years ago. Still have the boards, still have the straps though they have about ten inches of cable sticking out the ends. There's no such thing as a secure way of locking down your boards. With a lithum powered angle grinder and a cut off blade I could get through about anything. But that doesn't matter. I just want to stop the knucklehead with a boxcutter or the guy that sees a paddle $400 sticking out and knows he can grab it walking by and get a hundred bucks for it. They work great for that.

[jdmotes]

 Man. Call in the gang over at H-Five-0... I can see a board; but what I can't understand is what the hell are they going to do with a stolen car on an island? Maybe paint it and re-number it? Good luck on catching the f*#k-heads!      Later,  JD