Story last updated at 9:13 a.m. Friday, January 30, 2004


Stolen luxury yacht found

shipshape

Police lack suspects after tip leads to boat at Bahamas marina

BY STEVE REEVES
Of The Post and Courier Staff

A luxury yacht stolen under the cover of darkness from Charleston's
City Marina on Jan. 7 was found Wednesday night near the town of
Freeport, a playground for the rich and privileged on Grand Bahama
Island.

Investigators still don't know who sailed the vessel 500 miles to
Freeport or why.

Acting on a tip, Bahamian police and U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency
agents found the $750,000 Beneteau 57 in good condition at Running Mon
Marina and Resort, investigators said Thursday. The yacht, which is
owned by Atlanta physician Glen McIntosh, is one of only 35 built so
far and the only one in North America.

The sailboat could have gone unnoticed for weeks at the nearly
deserted marina, which has a reputation for criminal activity, Derr
said. The Beneteau 57 was one of two boats docked at the 70-slip
marina.

"A number of stolen boats have been recovered from this particular
marina over the years," Derr said.

Freeport is a major tourist destination that attracts 1 million
visitors each year. Its deep-water port is home to at least six cruise
lines. The 30-room Running Mon Marina and Resort is closed for
refurbishing, according to its Web site.

The town of Freeport, a 230-square-mile free trade zone established in
1955 by the government of the Bahamas, is at the crossroads of routes
between European and North and South American trade links and
international shipping transiting through the Panama Canal.

The yacht's owner, who bought the sailboat one week before it
disappeared from City Marina on Lockwood Avenue in Charleston, could
not be reached for comment Thursday.

Police are focusing their investigation on finding who stole the
sailboat, which has a 75-foot mast and weighs more than 47,000 pounds,
said Lt. J.E. Williams of the Charleston Police Department.

"We've got some good leads, and we feel confident we'll get to the
bottom of it," he said.

Williams said this is the first time he's investigated "a boat theft
of this scale."

"It's a good feeling to know we recovered it," he said.

One question that troubles Chuck Laughlin, the owner of St. Barts
Yachts in Charleston, who sold the Beneteau 57 to McIntosh, is how the
thief or thieves were able to slip aboard the yacht and sail into the
night unnoticed.

"I hope they catch the people who did it so we can see what the
process was and learn what we can do to keep it from happening again,"
Laughlin said.

Larry W4CSC

No, no, Scotty! I said, "Beam me a wrench.", not a WENCH!
Kirk Out.....