Pirates among us!
02 April 2009 | New Bern, NC
John and Cheryl
Cheryl's Notes:
Last time it was me putting out fires, and this time it was John chasing down "Perps". Both incidents happening on a Wednesday night. We might have to start a watch group to patrol the docks at night.
I will let John give the details, and just give you the highlights. We were reading in bed and heard a commotion on the docks in front of our boats. It turns out that three drunk idiots were out joy riding in a stolen dinghy and had capsized the boat under our dock. Our friend Denise was out on the dock giving them a tongue lashing. (Now you have to understand that Denise is barely five feet tall, weighs about 100 pounds soaking wet and is turning 60 in a few months.) Her husband Paul was below deck getting dressed. John and I joined them with flashlights in hand. The two idiots on the dock had already run off by the time we arrived. The remaining drunk was under the dock treading water.
We got him out from under the dock and he started swimming towards the dock in front of the restaurant. This time it was John running after the guy, while the rest of us checked the dock to see if anything was missing or damaged. Now I realize that John is chasing this young guy (barefoot) through the parking lots. Another resident, Bill and I started following the wet footprints. All the while Bill is telling me to stay behind him in case the "Perps" have a gun. We are quite a ways out of town, and the city police have no jurisdiction here, so it took a while for the Sheriff's department to get here. By this time, John and Ray are back, accompanied by the dock master. We haven't found any other problems, but we have found their Pabst blue ribbon beer cans everywhere.
On a side note: The loblolly pine trees are blooming here. Everything is coated with the yellow pollen. The boats, our cars, the buildings. If you stand still long enough, your hair turns yellow. It has rained here off and on for two days. The rain runs yellow down the storm sewers. Those of us with allergy problems are suffering greatly. I hope that this ends soon.
John's Notes:
Pirates everywhere. Well, at least on our dock. There were three of them. All in their 20's.
We were laying in bed reading about 11:30 Wednesday night and we heard some splashing in the water. We know the sound that the ducks under the dock make when they are disturbed and this was definitely the sound. We just said to each other that something must have disturbed them. When we come home late at night, we do it. Anyway, a couple of minutes later we hear voices on the dock and people walking by our boat. I told Cheryl that it's late and a weeknight. Nobody should be around so I'm going to get up and see what is going on. So here I am in my underwear up on deck and our neighbor Denise is engaged in a shouting match with a couple of young guys on the dock. I can only make out a little of the conversation but I know that this is not going to be good. Supposedly, they are friends of the Dockmaster. Sure they are. I go below and put on shorts and go up on the dock with my flashlight. I hear Denise say that someone is in the water. At first I thought someone had fallen in the water. Wouldn't be the first time. By the time I get to Denise, the two guys are booking down the dock toward shore. We notice that a dinghy is in the water. Turns out , we later learn, that it is the Dyer Dink that belongs to the Marina owner. Paul, Denise's husband, has now joined the fray. Denise says that someone is still in the water. I take my flashlight and lean over the dock and pan the light back and forth. Sure enough, there is some guy in the water. I tell him to get out from under the dock and he swims around to the other side with now four of us (Cheryl has joined the fray) watching him tread water. Paul asks what he's doing here and the guy mumbles something that didn't make much sense. Now the guy starts backstroking toward A Dock, which is up against the shore. I look at the guy and he is wearing heavy jeans, shirt and shoes. Even if he gets across the fairway he doesn't know where the ladders are and his clothes are so heavy he will never be able to pull himself up on our fixed docks. I figure that I can kind of take my time getting over to A Dock and keep him there till the police show up. (someone, Bill on E Dock had called the cops)
Surprise! By the time I get to A Dock this guy has figured out how to hoist himself out of the water by hanging on to the dock lines on one of the boats. He is just barely out of the water laying on the edge of the dock. I figure that he is exhausted by the effort of pulling himself up. He is just laying there. I jog up and kneel down with my flashlight right in his face and tell him to just stay down. I'm feeling pretty good about myself. Still tough enough. I figure that this guy did all the work exhausting himself getting out of the water. And then of course, if I look over my shoulder surely I will have help arriving any second. I need to have a chat with some of my dock neighbors. There is no backup! I have made the fatal mistake of being way too close to this guy and underestimating how strong he might be. Just as I yell out "I got him" he swings his right arm around and knocks me over and tries to get up and make a run for it. Hang on, it ain't over yet pal. He gets partially to his feet but his shoes don't get any traction and he slips back down on the dock. This can't be happening to me. How do I let his asshole outsmart me and get away. I make a grab for his legs and come up with nothing but a handful of air. He is out of my grasp and stumbling down the dock trying to get his bearings. Now I'm on my feet (oh did I mention that I left my shoes on the boat?) chasing him into the parking lot. I can see a couple of other guys off in the distance and figure that they are his buddies. No time for them, they are too far away. Actually, the guy in front of me turns out to be to far away also. The distance between me and his is widening. How can that young punk with the dripping wet clothes be faster than me? I must really be loosing a step. But there is still hope for a takedown, however. I see another friend, Ray, in the Rec Center parking lot. I shout out to him to stop the guy but I'm about a half a second too late. Just as Ray steps out from behind a car the guy is even with him and then he is gone heading across the park area. I catch up with Ray and we continue pursuit. The guy is into the trees and we have definitely lost him. It's about this time that I realize that something isn't quite right with my knee. There is a whopper sliver sticking out of my knee that I picked up from the dock when the guy pushed me over. Well, that comes out pretty easy but it still hurts. We follow along the woods for a couple of more minutes but pretty much have given up. About this time Bud, the Dockmaster shows up in his truck and we head back to the marina.
Turns out that these guys had taken the marina work boat as well as the dinghy. We finally find everything and then stand around talking with the security guy and the county deputies who have finally shown up after another half hour or so. I decide that it's time for a little Irish whisky and head back to the boat. Cheryl gets back a few minutes later. I'm really bummed that I let that punk get away. Paul tells me not to feel to bad, the guy was about 6'4" and just a little younger (by 40 years or so) than me. The bottom line is that I blew it. The worst part is that today my knee actually feels like a 66 year old knee. Damn. So what did we learn from this experience? Next time there is something going around here during the night, don't take a flashlight, take the FLARE GUN. If you have to light something or SOMEONE up, might as well do it right. Leave the canolli, take the flare gun!
We actually have done a few other things in the last couple of weeks. Most of it involves working on our continuing electrical problems. More about that next time when we have received back our alternator (the one that failed off the Jersey Coast last summer) and 3-stage regulator. Actually, what we are waiting for are replacement parts from Balmar.