OMG The Dinghy is GONE!

South Burlington, Vermont

Boy oh boy do we have lots of things to blog about.  I'll have to spread it over several days.
First, the headline news.  We have been away from Tarwathie for two days.  When we went to return to the boat this morning, we went to the dinghy dock.  When I looked, I said, "Oh My God, the dinghy is gone!"  After a few minutes searching the vicinity of the Perkins Pier dinghy dock I really began to panic.  I asked the Perkins Pier attendant.  He knew nothing.  Then I called the Burlington Boat House who is in charge of Perkins Pier.

The man on the phone gave me good news.  He said, "We have your dinghy.  It was found by the security man last night as it was being vandalized."    I hurried down there.  The Burlington Boat House is about 1/4 mile away.   When I got there, I heard the full story.  It seems that the security man spotted three men doing something bad.  He rushed in.  The three men ran away but he found my dinghy floating upside down near one of the docks.   He rescued the dinghy, turned it right side up, and tied it to the dock.

Vandalism?  The painter had been cut and one of our oars was broken in two.

My theory?  It sounds likely that the three men were drunks who wanted to joy ride.  Our dinghy was the only one at the Perkins Pier dock in the water at night.  Other dinghies were stored upside down on top of the dock.  Why did they cut the painter when they only needed to untie it?  Why or how did they break the oar?  Drunkenness is my theory.

The Burlington Boathouse people were very nice.  They used the harbormaster boat to tow me in the dinghy back to Tarwathie.   Otherwise, it would have been hard.  A rowboat with one oar is worse then one with no oars at all.  Also, Tarwathie was upwind against a stiff breeze.  No way I could have paddled there with my hands.

Once on Tarwathie, I was able to mount the outboard motor as an alternative means of dinghy propulsion.  We haven't used the motor since leaving Florida last April.

We owe a hearty thank you to the staff of the Burlington Boat House.  They rescued us from what could have been a much worse incident.

In other news today, more dark clouds (see below)