A Rude Awakening

There was a glorious sunset the other night, and I sat on the dock across the road from the marina, with a nice glass of pinot grigio and took this series of photos as the sky gradually evolved from pastels, through almost neon pinks and golds, eventually growing dark.  There were a few fishermen out, and the occasional whir of their lines being cast, following by the plop of the lure hitting the water only added to the magic.

As darkness arrived, so did the mosquitoes, and I paid the price with a number of annoying bites around my feet and ankles - the only part of me these pests seem to like.

The next morning, I was woken around 7:30 by the sounds of yelling outside our boat - a most unusual occurrence.  With a large number of elderly folks living here, we first wondered if someone was having a medical emergency and calling for help.  Stumbling out of bed, Michael and I both rushed out to the aft deck, still in our pyjamas, to see what was happening.  We could see two policemen a few boats away, one of whom was looking for a functioning water hose.  At that point, one of our neighbours came along, making his way slowly past the ruckus.  All he knew was that the guy had been on a small boat, travelling way too fast through the marina.  Somehow, the police got him onto the dock, pepper sprayed him, handcuffed him, and frog-marched him up the dock to the parking lot.

As with any small community, news (and misinformation) travels extremely fast.  In no time there were a number of different versions of the story.  What we eventually gathered was that this young man had stolen a small boat from Dock 1, and was using it to cruise along the other docks and liberate various items that folks stored either on their boats or on their own finger docks.  We are on Dock 4, and it appeared he was on his way down our side of the dock when the police did their thing.  How they got involved, and how they got him off his boat is still a mystery.  We also hear there was an accomplice who was helping to unload the booty from the small boat and into a truck.

Poor Michael!  He has told me time and again that he doesn't think there is any crime here, and that we don't need to worry about locking things up.  Things like the door to the boat when we go out, or leaving the keys in the small boat, tied up alongside us. Looks like he will have to rethink.