Drunk and Disorderly...

No, not me... come on, you know me better than that.  I had three obnoxious and inebriated guys on the boat.  I should have put a stop to them before they got on the boat.  I did talk to them; they were loud, but didn't seem like they'd be any trouble.  I told them, "You need to tone it down or hit the bricks.  There are other guests on this boat."

They promised they'd be agreeable.  I stopped the boat a couple times to check on everyone below and everything seemed to be fine.  The naturalist onboard tells me that they didn't have anything to drink while on the boat (one of our rules).  Unfortunately, an hour into the trip, they got loud and obnoxious... well, louder and more obnoxious.  I stopped the boat and told them that they only get one warning, and I would put them off at the nearest land if there were further problems.

"We're just having fun - it's Javier's birthday!"

"Happy birthday, Javier.  You need to hold it down, you're making the other guests uncomfortable.  We want everyone to have fun, and you are NOT allowed to mess with other peoples' fun for yours.  Do we understand each other?"

They agreed.

We went a long ways, only found one Minke whale, but saw lots of other great wildlife.  I understand that people come here to see Orcas... but, they Orcas aren't always here.  Still, I felt everyone was getting a good show.

On the way back, I guess these guys felt like they were safe to be obnoxious.  I turned around and saw one of them leaning over the railing past his hips, and putting his hand in the water!!  I pulled off the power and said, "That's it! Sit down and shut up.  I am done messing with you!"  I was concerned the idiot would fall off the boat he had leaned so far over.  They made threatening gestures towards me... "You don't want this fight!"  I told them.  "You can sit down and shut up or I'll have the Sheriff waiting at the dock."  They continued being belligerent.  "OK, that's how we'll play it."

I called the office and told Joan, "Have the Sheriff waiting for us at the dock.  I'll be in in 10 minutes."

She had to deal with them earlier, so she knew why, "I'll have them there."

Even better, as I came into the harbor, the Sheriff's boat came alongside us.  The three loudmouths got amazingly quiet.  Well, I could hear them trying to formulate what they were going to say.

I visited with the deputies on the VHF, so they knew what to expect.  "We'll escort you in and have deputies waiting on the dock."

"Thanks, gentlemen."

"And people say there isn't a cop around when you need one, huh?" one of the deputies said to me.  It was just a coincidence that they were on the boat - they were coming back in from another call.  Great timing!

When I got the boat to the dock, the first mate tied us off, and two deputies stepped onboard while another waited on the dock.  I thanked the guests and apologized if anyone had been uncomfortable at any time.  One lady was mad, the rest of the guests thanked me for handling the situation.  The tips were better than usual.  Oh, three of the guests weren't happy at all.

The deputies started by letting the three loudmouths tell their side of the story.  The one who threatened me started getting all worked up again, and the deputy told him, "You need to cool down, son.  I've heard enough from you!"

He took me aside and said, "How do you want this to go down?"

I said, "Let 'em walk, with the understanding that they keep on walking.  If they are stupid enough to continue being belligerent, cuff 'em, I'll press charges, and let 'em spend Javier's birthday in jail."

"You're being generous," he said.  "I think that's a good solution.  From the looks of these guys, you did the right thing in calling us."

We went back to the boat and he told them how it was going to go down.

The nasty one continued to glare at me.  Javier shook my hand, and said, "Thanks, man."  The most sober of the three also gave me a nod and said, "Thanks.  I'm sorry."  They let 'em walk.

We have a new company policy: if they seem drunk or obnoxious at the front counter, they don't get on the boat.  If they make it as far as the boat and they seem like a problem, the boat crew will send them back to the office for a refund.  This is the first I've come across this on this job.

Lesson learned: I was trying to be a good guy; I really do want everyone to have the opportunity to see all the great things we see out on the water here.  I can't be in the guest area when I'm driving the boat (but, the naturalist did a fine job), so I need to cut our losses before we get out on the water.

Frankly, it shouldn't have to come to this.  Those three made things uncomfortable for everyone onboard.  That's not right.  I won't let it get to that point in the future.

But, other than that, it was a great day on the water!

;-)