An attempted sailboat theft in Seabrook, Texas, hit rocky waters when the suspect jump in the water and tried to swim away with the boat in tow, cops say.
Police arrested Phillip Beach, 26, on Friday after responding to a call from the harbor reporting a theft in progress.
Whey they arrived, they saw Beach swimming in the water with a 44-foot sailboat named the Flying Pearl tethered behind him, KXAN-TV reported.
Joe Stumpf, who owns the Flying Pearl, suspects alcohol may have played a part in the incident.
"I think he was too drunk to realize really what he was trying to accomplish," Stumpf told KENS-TV, adding that he found an empty margarita container in the boat when he got it back.
As for Beach's getaway, investigators tell the station that he managed to take the boat out of its slip, but the sails were locked down so he couldn’t open them.
Authorities said Beach initially refused to surrender .
A detective finally talked him out of the water, according to KHOU-TV. He was arrested on charges of felony theft.
Ironically, Stumpf also owns the Captain Kidd, a Kemah tourist attraction that looks like a pirate boat.
"We’re the pirates," he told KENS-TV. "We’re the ones who are supposed to be doing all the stealing and pillaging and plundering and everything."
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