Criminals at Sea. Bye Bye Bouys. Super-Termites Along for the Ride

Four Bite-Size Stories

Peter Swanson Jun 1

Spouted, Touted, Pleaded Guilty

He spouted conspiracy theories and touted anti-vaccination positions while anchored in the Dominican Republic. Now, Australian Richard Sydney-Smith is waiting to be sentenced for drug smuggling and hoping for less than 10 years in prison.

Sydney-Smith arrived at the country’s hurricane-hole harbor—Luperon Bay—sometime in 2020 in what had been a beautiful steel ketch named Christina. She met her end as scrap in late 2023 after demonstrating a tendency to take on water at anchor.

Next thing we know, according to court documents, a Dominican drug figure named Orlando had hooked Sydney-Smith up with associate Onasis Lisandro Garcia, and the two of them were piloting Easy Times, a 44-foot sportfisherman, en route from the Bahamas to Fort Lauderdale. She was packed with 157 kilograms of cocaine.

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Easy Times was intercepted on the evening of October 27, 2024 about two nautical miles east of the entrance to Fort Lauderdale.

With the jig being up, Sydney-Smith and Garcia quickly went into cooperation mode. Authorities switched out the cocaine with fake stuff and allowed the two men to arrange a rendezvous with their shoreside connections, bringing the total number of arrestees to five.

What some readers may find amazing is how cheap Sydney-Smith and Garcia were willing to work, given that the sentence for smuggling ranges from ten years to life. They told investigators they were paid $3,000 up front with a promise of “$5,000 to $10,000” upon delivery.

They are pleading guilty in hope that the court will grant them mercy, something along the lines of a five-year sentence.

Swaggering Keys Grifter Self-Deports

Jan Kanafoski is a Polish national whose criminal career began in Georgia, where he did time for theft. After that he engaged in a series of escapades—and had another criminal conviction—involving boats that burned, disappeared, were repossessed or given to him as gifts by older men who (one assumes) admired Kanafoski’s swaggering streetwise demeanor.

Kanafoski, 45, became a fixture along the Key West waterfront and, for a while, at Isla Mujeres in Mexico.

The Grift: How an Ex-Con Stole Our Boat And Got Away With It September 11, 2023 Read full story

Kanafoski’s latest ride is Baba Yaga, a 66-foot catamaran, which was provided to him by an “investor” who was told the boat could make money in charter, according to Kanafoski’s son. Baba Yaga is a famous witch from Slavic folklore.

According to Baba Yaga’s most recent AIS coordinates, she was crossing the Atlantic after a stay in Bermuda. Her last available position was 40 days ago, just west of the Azores.

While at Bermuda, Kanafoski took the time to explain his plight in a Facebook post.

His “kid” denies informing on dad. Kid said he believes that the ICE story is made-up. Kid believes dad actually has self-deported, heading back to the mother country because he has cancer and wants to take advantage of Poland’s national health care.

Bouy Removal Breakdown by Sound and Light

The Coast Guard plan to discontinue 350 navigational bouys in the Northeast has been met with widespread chagrin in the maritime community, and the deadline for comments is fast approaching.

The latest criticism comes from the Maine Legislature, which last week passed a unanimous resolution opposing the whole idea, arguing that it represented false savings at the expense of public safety.

But since the Coast Guard comment structure appears built around the question of whether to remove each bouy individually, it is not clear that opposition to the entire concept will carry much weight.

Coast Guard Proposes Eliminating 350 Nav Aids in Foggy, Rocky Northeast Peter Swanson   ·   Apr 24 Read full story

Ted Arisaka is a cruiser and Loose Cannon correspondent who actually took the time to break down the buoys in question by type. His analysis showed 48 sea bouys had been targeted for removal, and further broke them down…

By State and Light Type (0=No Light)

By State and Sound Type (0=No Sound)

Termite Love Child Going to Sea?

Loose Cannon recently published a story quoting scientist Thomas Chouvenc, who believes boats are exporting Florida termites to who knows where. Now, he’s learned that it’s actually worse. He’s discovered a hybrid termite and expects this new super species will also be stowing away.

“Having the two of the most destructive termite species in the world hybridizing here in Florida is a real concern and it is unknown if in the long term it will be a major economic problem that would be compounded to the one already caused by both species,” Chouvenc said.

In his just-published essay in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society, Chouvenc wrote that invasive Formosan subterranean termites and Asian subterranean termites have gone from coexistence to cross-breeding. Chovenc is associate professor of urban entomology at the Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, a branch of the University of Florida.

The university’s news release on Chovenc’s study concluded:

With the presence of established hybrid colonies now confirmed, scientists warn that the consequences could extend far beyond Florida. Fort Lauderdale, dubbed the “yacht capital of the world,” is a known hotspot for the introduction and spread of invasive termites via recreational boats. Chouvenc’s previous research has shown that private vessels are a major pathway for spreading these species internationally.

“This may be a Florida story now, but it likely won’t stay just in Florida. Give it time,” he warned.

Has Your Boat Been Infiltrated by Termite Stowaways? Apr 11 Read full story