Cleaning Up The Neighborhood

Then came “Pappi” with his derelict fleet including a large sailboat that was stranded for quite a while but moved last month as noted here. For several months before Papi arrived I was alone down here and nobody, not the Bradenton Beach Marine Patrol, Manatee County Sheriff’s Department or the Fish and Wildlife officers gave me a hassle. In fact, the F&W once told me that I was “Fine where you are.”

But after Pappi showed up so did the Sheriff. It wasn’t just his collection of shitty boats that don’t run, it was his whole way of being that irked the authorities. There is a county ordinance prohibiting the use of the boat ramp from anything other than the launching and recovery of boats. But nobody said anything about me going in and tying off while I went about my business on land. Pappi, on the other hand, would go in, tie up and be gone for several days at a time. After a while the Sheriff told me that I couldn’t use it as a “dinghy dock” anymore. Now, I tie my dinghy to a tree limb and I’m within the scope of the law, at least.

Now all of his boats are gone. I don’t know where. Don’t care, just so long as they aren’t here.

After Pappi a couple with an engineless 28-foot Carver showed up. I won’t go on about them other than sometimes they’ve been entertaining. Like when they were fighting one afternoon and he screamed “You’re the worst thing that every happened to me!” They’re still together, though. They went away for Memorial Day and haven’t come back. Supposedly their car shit the bed.

Then there’s the couple I refer to as “Itchy & Scratchy.” She’s obese and her face is perpetually glued to her phone. His IQ points wouldn’t cover a domino. They ere told by the BB Marine cops to leave the big anchorage. And here they are, with a 22 foot sailboat with no engine and no anchor lights. When I say these people are worthless consider this…Their boat doesn’t even have a small outboard. Their aluminum dinghy, about 12 feet long is constantly filled with water and has sat tied to the bushes for the last few weeks. They’ve been having Pappi ferry them to and from shore. They each got a $1,200 “stimulus check” and did they do anything to improve their boat? NOPE! They rented a motel room for a week and blew the rest on drugs, supposedly.

If those two boats could disappear it would be nice here once again…