Businessman jailed for four months for drunkenly dropping ship's anchor while on cruise.

Mail Online ^ | 3/7/12 | Mail Online

[mmanager]

A businessman has been sentenced to four months in jail for dropping a moving cruise ship's anchor after a night of heavy drinking.

Rick Ehlert, 45, released the 18-ton anchor and delayed the MS Ryndam, which was en route from Mexico to Tampa, for three hours.

Ehlert, from California, was also ordered to pay a $7,500 fine and to take substance abuse and mental health counseling.

[mmanager]

Dang!

[Truth29]

Four months? He should kiss the deck for a lenient legal system and that nothing else happened during his stunt.

[GonzoGOP]

Now what I can't figure out. How does a passenger get access to the anchor while the ship is under way? Seriously these guys need to invest in some door locks.

Of another note the report is that Ehlert drank around four glasses of wine, a glass of vodka, a quarter of a bottle of vodka, four single martinis and four double martinis. He also took the sleeping drug Ambien. I'm surprised the guy was still mobile.

[Responsibility2nd]

I read the article.

I think the punishment fit the crime.

[napscoordinator]

Four months? He should kiss the deck for a lenient legal system and that nothing else happened during his stunt.

I thought it was a harsh sentence. DId anyone get hurt? If not, what is the harm really. It was not like he did it on purpose.

[crosshairs]

Since it was a “businessman”, he said “hello all of you, observe what I am about to do”, rather than “hey ya’ll watch this”.

[peeps36]

He should have blamed the Ambien like that Kennedy did when he smashed his car. It probably only works for a Kennedy but it's worth a shot.

[elkfersupper]

I've done some pretty serious twistoffs in my day while effed-up, but that one goes beyond anything I could conceive, even in my wildest, youngest days.

Glad nobody was hurt or killed.

Wow.

[Cyber Liberty]

Didn’t this damage the anchor house on the ship? I remember this story from a while back, and it was an extremely dangerous situation to have the anchor play all the way out at high speed.

[GonzoGOP]

I thought it was a harsh sentence.
He also did a fake man overboard. So he was a multiple loser and they needed to make a point to other drunks that this sort of thing is not tolerated.

DId anyone get hurt? If not, what is the harm really.
Dropping the anchor while the ship is under way can rip off the anchor, or worst case it can punch a hole in the hull on the way down. In the latter case the damage can go from nobody hurt to everybody in lifeboats real fast. Not real likely, but not something you want to encourage. Dropping the anchor while the ship under way is dangerous stuff.

It was not like he did it on purpose.
Yes he did, watch the video.

[STD]

Since the 1980's it's been well known that mixing any benzodiazepine with alcohol results in bizarre behavior.

Let me give you another florid example. While attending an office party over the holidays, the senior VP of a top ad agency asked the Big Bosses wife for a dance. In it self not generally a good idea, but it gets much worse.

Our hero had taken something his doctor had given him to help him sleep, 'the night before' the party. After two highballs, he's dancing with the Big Bosses 50ish wife. He proceeds to grope her and fondle her backside in front of three hundred people. So caught up in the moment that he actually puts his hand up under her dress. She screamed and everything that followed was a nightmare. So, be prepared to abstain from any alcohol if you intend to use sleepers.

[pabianice]

18 drinks plus Ambien. Mobile? Must be a Kennedy.

[pabianice]

Look on the bright side. The guy got to make a career change he might never otherwise have considered!

[frog in a pot]

I thought it was a harsh sentence. DId anyone get hurt? If not, what is the harm really. It was not like he did it on purpose.

You are joking, correct? From the article:

He noticed the anchor and put on a pair of work gloves, removed a cable attached to the anchor, turned a handle and released the brake…”

This, after he had trespassed into an off-limits, “crew only” space.

[bunkerhill7]

Confucius say man who drop cold anchor in cooler.

[Truth29]

"I thought it was a harsh sentence. DId anyone get hurt? If not, what is the harm really. It was not like he did it on purpose."

Everyone, including the defendant, was very lucky. His penalty should not just be based upon what happened, but what he tried. He released an anchor to run out hundreds of feet uncontrolled and he also caused a person overboard alert.

[Amberdawn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3WveEZykJ8 Reminds me of this guy...

[sit-rep]

ya no kidding! each link weighs in at over a hundred pounds!!

[napscoordinator]

I didn’t read the whole article at the time, but you are right after hearing from you both. He should have gotten more.

[STD]

make a career change / OR make a coarse