Thieves?

Call me nosy, but whenever I hear the sound of another boat close by I tend to pop out and have a look. There were times I was completely surprised by what I saw. After hearing a prop tear through the water one day at a marina, I popped up to see a man's head over our stern, at the helm of a bulbous Hunter 41. He was close enough to ask for some Grey Poupon. "Hey there!" he said, then proceeded to back that damn boat into his slip like it was a car. Amazing to see.

Another time I heard the distinctive sound of a one lung Yanmar, and a tiny prop through the hull, and the transmission was rapidly shifting forward and back. I did the Gladys Kravitz to see what was going on, and it was my pal from work getting caught in the weeds, and not able to power through to his slip. I jumped into the dinghy, and managed to nudge him in. So, I think it's beneficial to take a peek when you hear something out of the ordinary, unless it's gunfire of course. 

Last night while watching a college basketball game, I heard the rumble of powerboat outside, and the sound of propeller cavitation. It was dark, and the marina staff had gone home for the night. True to form I popped my head out to see what's up. There was a thirty foot powerboat docked behind us at the transient dock, with his running lights off, quickly tying the boat off. Soon after the engine was shut down, the electric was plugged in, and a hose run to refill water tanks. No big deal right? Well, this morning at about six, these folks are warming up ready to depart the dock. Thieves? They basically waited for the marina to shut down, then left before it opened, getting a free night. Do I care? Well, yes I do. They used the utilities all night, got free WiFi, then tied up the showers this morning while paying people waited. I've seen this happen up north also, power and sail, and I never liked it. I couldn't do it. Not only is it not in me to thieve services, but my night vision sucks, so even if I wanted to I would probably hit a piling on the way out. This stealing just raises the slip fees for the rest of us eventually.

Maybe they called ahead, were assigned a spot, gave them their credit card, and everything was on the up and up. Maybe I should mind my own business. Maybe.

I saw that!
P