Copano Thieves

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wittich
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Copano Thieves

Post by wittich »

I have almost had my paddleboard stolen twice within the last couple fishing trips. The first time, I did a poor job strapping down my friends inflatable paddleboard to my truck. We drove a short distance from rattlesnake point kayak launch to my house. We got home and noticed the missing paddleboard and quickly backtracked our way to the kayak launch. We could not find it. The board could not have been sitting on the ground for more than 2 minutes We drove back and forth a few times, finally someone flagged us down and asked if we had lost a paddleboard. He pointed to a house and said a guy picked up the paddleboard and take it to his garage.
My buddy knocked on the front door and talked to the owner. The guy claimed he was going to post a picture on facebook...Well he could spent a minute or two outside and would have seen us drive by looking for it.

Yesterday, I almost had mine almost stolen. I went flounder gigging in the morning. I paddled back down the towards my house. A kayaker was up ahead of me. I beached my paddleboard on the shore and went into my house to clean the flounder. I came back 10 minutes later found the paddleboard missing and no signs of the kayaker. I drove like a maniac back the kayak launch. When I arrived this guy was about to load up his kayak and my paddleboard into his vehicle. It is always the same story. Someone snatches the paddleboard, quickly either hides or leaves with it and when confronted says he was going to post someone on facebook. Lesson learned. You can't leave anything valuable unattended for even 5 minutes down in Rockport.
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impulse
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by impulse »

If you haven't done it already, I'd suggest writing your name, address and phone number on your paddleboard and paddles in very indelible ink. Sooner or later, it's going to get stolen by someone even more nefarious and then it becomes a "he says, she says" argument even if you do find it and get the cops involved. Unlike kayaks, most SUPs I've owned don't have a hull ID. In fact, I don't recall ever seeing a hull ID since they don't need to be registered.

If it's an inflatable, the PVC fabric soaks up a Magic Marker very nicely. If it's a hard PE unit, you may need to do a little scratching to make it permanent.

Also serves purpose in the not unlikely event that it blows away in the wind when you're not looking, to be found later on a distant shoreline. I find lots of goodies washed up on the ICW rip rap across from our place, especially after a good blow. If anything has owner ID, I'd be pleased to call them and return it.
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motoyak
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by motoyak »

Had same thing happen to me at GISP with a kayak cart I left unattended for just a few minutes. Unfortunately, I didn't recover that
SWFinatic
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by SWFinatic »

That's frustrating. I'm usually pretty level headed but I hope for my own sake I don't ever catch someone trying to steal my stuff. Have zero tolerance for a thief.
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Halen
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by Halen »

SWFinatic wrote: Mon Aug 01, 2022 1:15 pm That's frustrating. I'm usually pretty level headed but I hope for my own sake I don't ever catch someone trying to steal my stuff. Have zero tolerance for a thief.
My thoughts exactly, it's a shame that we have to contend with thieves but sadly that's the world we live in.
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Dandydon
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by Dandydon »

Post pandemic crime has exploded not only around Rockport, but Houston and country-wide as well. A lawyer friend of mine last week parked at the House of Pies and emerged after dining to see his catalytic converters (all 4 of them) stolen from his Taho pick-up truck.

What's shocking is the same thing happened (this time parked at the Heights Theater) about 6 months ago.

The crime wave is made worse by lefty permissive district attorneys who release criminals & reduce bail amounts like it's the end of the world.

My takeaway is to scan your surroundings often, carry a concealed weapon you're trained for, and get two Black Belts in Kung Fu, lol.

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TexasJim
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by TexasJim »

About six months ago, my RV park neighbor launched at Conn Brown on a busy Friday and returned from fishing and found that some scumbags had cut the cat converters off his 2003(!) F-150. There's 10,000 open jobs that no one wants, because they can steal instead of working. I always worried about parking my seventeen-year-old Tacoma at remote kayak launches, so I bought some square steel box tube and cut it into channels that I clamped to my exhaust pipes to make it harder for the thieves. It'll just take them longer.

When "I lived in the Virgin Islands, a battery-powered mini grinder with a cut-off wheel was called a "Puerto-Rican Master Key". They'll work harder to steal something than it would have taken to earn money working for it. Stealing is the National Sport. It's a shame what we've come to.

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Dandydon
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by Dandydon »

Texas Jim, I loved your spirited rant and concluding poetry, "Stealing is the national sport." Well said. Seems like us older men who grew up in the 60s remember when locking your doors was optional.

Your steel box idea sounds good, but I'm thinking of also adding burglar bars to my Explorer...

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Kitsune
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by Kitsune »

Our neighborhood in Rockport had vehicles broken into last Friday night. I think 3 hand guns were stolen from my neighbors vehicles. :shock: They know how they can get away with crime as long as there is a little wiggle room. These stories and breaking into vehicles or taking lawn equipment is the new normal. Always carry, do not leave firearms in your vehicle (I have been guilty), and always stay vigilant. I would suggest knowing ones neighbors and connecting with those around us can really help.
Tenore
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by Tenore »

On a positive note, last Thursday at Christmas Bay (Amigo ln) my friend returned and found his truck had been side swiped in the parking area. The responsible party left a note and actually had insurance.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by Ron Mc »

About 10 years ago, I was spending a lot of time in Corpus, and had some free time, where I would visit the pawn shops looking at antique firearms.
Several times, I ran across the same teenagers with a cache of rods and reels to sell to the pawnbroker.
No question they were sweeping the canal neighborhoods and picking up whatever they could find.
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Fishtolive
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by Fishtolive »

So sad to see the world turned into
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Reefmonkey
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by Reefmonkey »

I don’t think the world “turned into “ anything, people have been stealing since the beginning of time. And this kind of casual theft of anything unattended isn’t limited to certain races or socioeconomic levels. My stepson has been a counselor at one of the venerable old Hill Country summer camps for the last few years, the campers and counselors are overwhelmingly rich white kids, but my stepson has had a hammock,a Yeti tumbler, a couple of pairs of sunglasses and other odds and ends stolen. It jibes with my experience at SMU in the 90s, my “brothers” in the fraternity weren’t above claiming as theirs things left unattended inside the fraternity house. I even had stuff taken from my room, guys might visit my suite mate while I was out, walk across the bathroom to my room, and if something caught their eye, would walk off with it - a bottle of liquor, a CD…I once walked into a guys room to ask him something and saw a nice and unique flashlight that had disappeared from my room the week before sitting on his bookshelf.
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socializedNerd
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by socializedNerd »

When quite a few of you grew up the Internet didn't exist so you had no idea how many things were being stolen around you. There wasn't an app or chatroom for that; national news and even local new doesn't cover petty crime unless it becomes overwhelming; so even if it did happen in your immediate area you may or may not have known. Also jobs require skills (which you may or may not have), and most do a background check, so one bad choice can infinitely increase the difficulty to make good choices going forward....just my 2 cents. How many people can say they gave someone a legal second chance. Maybe next time you find your kayak or paddle board you offer them a job as a "thanks" for giving it back. Just an idea, and a way to turn a negative into a positive....sounds better than shooting someone.
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socializedNerd
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by socializedNerd »

When quite a few of you grew up the Internet didn't exist so you had no idea how many things were being stolen around you. There wasn't an app or chatroom for that; national news and even local new doesn't cover petty crime unless it becomes overwhelming; so even if it did happen in your immediate area you may or may not have known. Also jobs require skills (which you may or may not have), and most do a background check, so one bad choice can infinitely increase the difficulty to make good choices going forward....just my 2 cents. How many people can say they gave someone a legal second chance. Maybe next time you find your kayak or paddle board you offer them a job as a "thanks" for giving it back. Just an idea, and a way to turn a negative into a positive...I'd rather give someone an opportunity than a bullet.
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motoyak
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by motoyak »

I'm not seeing where anyone is advocating shooting anyone??
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socializedNerd
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by socializedNerd »

Always carry, do not leave firearms in your vehicle (I have been guilty), and always stay vigilant.
Maybe I took this the wrong way. Just think if we did more as a society to help struggling people, more people might make better choices. I don't know if people make poorer choices now than in previous times (I'd have to check the stats vs population density), but I do think the speed of information (some factual some fictional) has had a tremendous impact on society and community. I used to play in a canyon all day until the sun went down and then follow the power lines home, but now i can lookup a police blotter, view a sex predator list, get on a social media app that just covers my area...and unfortunately my kids won't get to do what I did because all I can see is the danger that surrounds them. I honestly don't think any of the information is something that just exists in this time, it just wasn't readily available back in the day. I'm sure some people are stealing for what I'm assuming (having never been in that position) is a quick buck, but I do wonder what set them down that path to thinking that was their way forward. Maybe instead of locking people up for it we help them find a position that will keep a roof over their head and food on the table. At least instead of a jail sentence, maybe it would help rebuild the American workforce, and take a little off the plate of our officers and prisons. And this is probably beyond the scope of this conversation, so maybe just get an insurance policy on your board or kayak....there is insurance for everything now a days. Either way the real.piny is this isn't a today versus back then problem, it's always been around....you just didn't see it back then.
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motoyak
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by motoyak »

Me thinks you chose a fitting handle to go by :lol:

Thieves and opportunists have been around a long time and do what they do. Help is out there for them to change their ways but, and this is a big but, they have to want to change. Until then, if one breaks the law, one pays the consequences and those consequences can and do come in many forms such as low self esteem, incarceration, financial issues, karma ( for those who believe in such things), and yes, the possibility of being killed in the act of committing a crime.
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socializedNerd
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by socializedNerd »

Definitely a believer in karma :)
SWFinatic
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Re: Copano Thieves

Post by SWFinatic »

socializedNerd wrote: Thu Aug 04, 2022 7:18 pm Maybe next time you find your kayak or paddle board you offer them a job as a "thanks" for giving it back. Just an idea, and a way to turn a negative into a positive...I'd rather give someone an opportunity than a bullet.
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