I have travelled by land several times into Baja Mexico and have always
carried both Bear Spray and pepper (dog) spray in my trailer.I enquired one
time at the Mexican Embassy regarding legality and was told it is legal .I
think it is a great deterrent,especially the bear spray,and having used it on
bears,it works! During my travels in Mexico I have often been searched by the
Mexican Army and Customs,and I have never been asked about it,nor have I
hidden it.I usually keep it in the bathroom vanity.

Keep up the great posts everyone!

Lets be real

We are talking about pepper spray as a deterrent for what?  The casual thief
whose taking your tender?  I'd suggest simply waking up and turning on a
light or having REX bark is the same level of effectiveness at sending this
casual thief on his way.

If we are saying this is a way to arm ourselves and deter the more
aggressive thief then I'm wondering if this is at all realistic.  It seems
to me the more aggressive thief is better armed than pepper spray and I'd
then think more willing to use it.  It seems to me if your willing to
confront someone on your boat with pepper spray and deal with the
possibility of facing his response than your better off shooting him before
he shoots you.  The 12gauge insert in a 25mm flair gun (or several of them)
is the stepped up deterrent I'd want to implement (IF I was willing to head
down that path).

Dave, you mention two tenders were stolen just a few nights ago, can you
tell us:

a.  Were the boats in the water or up on deck?
b.  Did anyone hear them, was there any sign of them?
c.  Do you think most of these targets are scouted out ahead of time from
the shore and your interaction with the locals goes a long way toward
becoming a target?  In other words, they (the thieves) know exactly what
boats there going after and you can almost anticipate who's going to loose a
boat, or it's completely random.

If pulling the tender up on the boat deck is the most effective method of
dealing with this then a discussion on how to make this easier would be as
welcome a discussion as the effectiveness of pepper spray!

Sincerely,

Scott Bulger, Alanui, N40II, Seattle WA

Hi All

  Reporting from Subic Bay, Philippines.
 The other day I was on the flybridge with Gilbert, our $5.97 per day 

Filipino helper, and I saw a garbage bag of garbage being blown off the dock
into the water. It was black and rounded with garbage but lightly packed so
it just rolled and floated like tumbleweed. It looked like the ones we use
and I assumed Ruth had set it out there. I made a run for it as it was
floating toward an adjacent fingerpier's most extreme point and I might be
able to retrieve it from the water if I hurried.
Down the flybridge ladder, around the boat, and down the ladder to the
dock I went.  As I was running along the main dock I could see the bag
gently floating along and nearing the end of the finger pier. It appeared by
the track the bag was following that it would cross within reach. I
increased my speed and turned out the pier toward the end. It crossed my
mind that my momentum would carry me right off the end and into the water if
I couldn't slow down in time.
Just as I got there it did pass and I knelt down just in time to grasp
the very bottom of the bag as it passed and bring it back to safety. The
problem was I was still moving when at least one knee hit the concrete and
scrubbed off some skin. I stood up and looked around but there were
absolutely no witnesses to my heroic efforts.
I proudly carried the bag back to and stuffed it into the trash can
from which it came and went to tell Ruth how I had saved her much
embarrassment from having someone somewhere find her bag and report her/us
to the authorities for littering. She didn't know what I was talking about
but did put a bandage on my bleeding knee. So it goes, a day in the life of
a cruise.

Randal Johnson M/V Dora Mac