Takes Kids from Wife, Steals Sailboat, Flees

[SunDevil]

Why isn't it harder to steal a sailboat? It's true that 99.9% of the population has no idea how to sail, so it would never probably come up...but unless he is trying to get to international waters and become a 'pirate' that the Navy can deal with, I don't get his intentions with trying to sail away either... It will make a good made for TV movie in a few years.

Couldn't he have taken his kids down to Mexico by car and walked right in (if that is what he is trying to do)?

I wonder what the authorities will do?

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by SunDevil

I wonder what the authorities will do?

I'm patiently waiting for a six knot chase...

[sloopygirl]

Originally Posted by tamif27

Didn't Sterling Hayden do just what this fella has done?

I read that book too, ages ago - I was just trying to think of his name. Yeah, he did.

[sarafina]

Local scuttlebutt is that he intended heading for the delta and hiding out, but the posts about Thailand makes me wonder...

Wonder if they will have trouble tracking him at night...

Wow, after reading a bit this evening.. I believe it is totally the same guy. He lived in Thailand from 2010 till this May...

And he didn't "steal" the children. They had informal shared custody and the mom cut him off on Monday. So on Tuesday he picked them up. There appears to be no legal restrictions to his removing the children from the house.

The problem seems to be, legally, the theft of the boat.

[rubyjean]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

I'm patiently waiting for a six knot chase...

You must remember that he's stole a Hunter, They don't go 6 Knots...

[Celestialsailor]

Not that I am condoning his actions but all to often in custody situations one or the other parent use the children as ponds.

[Dhillen]

Originally Posted by sloopygirl

I read that book too, ages ago - I was just trying to think of his name. Yeah, he did.

No, he didn't. Sterling Hayden was the real deal, an experienced sea captain who found fame and fortune acting in the movies. He DID take his children on a wooden schooner to Tahiti, thumbing his nose at society but it was HIS OWN damn boat. He didn't stoop to steal someone else's vessel like this scumbag.

Hayden's book, "Wanderer" is pretty much a classic in sailing literature and it's been way too long since I read it. I am now going on to Amazon to order a copy and enjoy it once again.

Cheers.

Dhillen

[IceDog]

Atoll, For a quick $10000, call National Enquirer and sell em the scoop before someone else thinks of it!!! I think you earned it

[sarafina]

And the kids (and boat) have been recovered in Monterey...

[gjordan]

Sterling Hayden owed money on his boat and skipped out on the crediters. Now days that would be considered theft. The book Wanderer is a great read. I remember my dad bringing home the newspaper and reading about Hayden. I think he was my dads hero. This guy seems more demented than being a romantic hero. Oh Well, maybe he can write a book from the nice cozy cell he will be in for a long time._____Grant.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Dhillen

No, he didn't. Sterling Hayden was the real deal, an experienced sea captain who found fame and fortune acting in the movies. He DID take his children on a wooden schooner to Tahiti, thumbing his nose at society but it was HIS OWN damn boat. He didn't stoop to steal someone else's vessel like this scumbag.

Hayden's book, "Wanderer" is pretty much a classic in sailing literature and it's been way too long since I read it. I am now going on to Amazon to order a copy and enjoy it once again.

Cheers.

Dhillen

I don't think anyone here said Hayden stole a boat...just that he took his children without the mothers permission.

[terminalcitygrl]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Not that I am condoning his actions but all to often in custody situations one or the other parent use the children as ponds.

Like a place to keep your ducks and tall grasses? I had no idea children could be used like that!

[lateral]

Obviously in dream land. Sad really, for everyone involved.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by lateral

Obviously in dream land. Sad really, for everyone involved.

That's for sure...If he thought he had custody troubles before this little hiccup, he hasn't seen anything yet.

[justwaiting]

Originally Posted by rubyjean

You must remember that he's stole a Hunter, They don't go 6 Knots...

But it will be usefull if he pleads insanity