Santa Barbara – One of Santa Barbara’s leading tourist attractions is The Double Dolphin, a 50-foot catamaran renowned for whale watching excursions, dinner cruises, and coastal party adventures. The vessel is surely one of the most recognizable boats in the region, which may qualify the events of March 3rd for a prominent ranking in the annual “what was he thinking?” competition.
It was on that date that officers of the Santa Barbara Harbor patrol responded to an emergency call reporting The Double Dolphin making its way—apparently without the benefit of anyone at the helm—into the harbor’s main channel and approaching the open ocean.
Double Dolphin
Harbor Patrol officers, according to Santa Barbara Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Riley Harwood, were promptly on board, where they discovered Phillip Everett Conway, 21. Harbor Patrol Officer Karl Halamicek made contact with Conway, who admitted to having untied the boat from its dockside moorings and to having vandalized property on board. Among the items that had apparently been tampered with were lifejackets, lifeboats, and assorted pieces of equipment and personal property. Halamicek commented that “the boat was pretty much in disarray,” and that pursuant to subsequent inspection by the boat’s owner damages were in the range of $1,000 to $3,000.
As The Double Dolphin was recovered and motored back to its safe mooring, Conway was taken into custody and transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where he was booked on charges of felony grand theft of a vessel and felony vandalism, with his bail set at $500,000.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara Police Department
Read more:
Independent: Homeless man steals Double Dolphin
Noozhawk: Man arrested after Double Dolphin sailboat set adrift
KeyT: Suspect caught after Double Dolphin catamaran is stolen
