Scotsman Dale McLaughlan woke up in hot water after illegally crossing a cold sea.
The construction worker is currently in prison on the Isle of Man, after risking his life by jet skiing over the Wild Sea of Ireland to meet his girlfriend for a romantic date.
The voyage, which McLaughlan initially thought would last only 40 minutes, lasted about 4.5 hours off the coast of Scotland and triggered a major search and rescue alert along the west coast of Britain.
More importantly, McLaughlan was also sentenced to four weeks in prison for violating the strict COVID-19 restrictions in the Isle of Man on visitors to the island nation between Ireland and the United Kingdom.
“The Isle of Man is in a very different situation from the UK and many other counties in terms of coronavirus,” Isle of Man chief minister Howard Quayle said in a statement.
“Our community has worked together to contain and eliminate the virus to protect those most vulnerable to COVID-19. So I was amazed to learn that someone traveled from the UK to the Isle of Man on a jet ski over the weekend, violating our border restrictions. “
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“On the Isle of Man, we’re all for ingenuity,” Quayle said. “Unfortunately, this was an extremely reckless, dangerous effort, which could have ended very differently depending on the time of year.”
McLaughlan’s journey on the narrow body of water began on December 11, when the 28-year-old drove 70 miles from his home in North Ayrshire and set off from Whithorn Island on the west coast of Scotland at around 8am. morning.
According to an Isle of Man police report, he had only purchased jet kki the day before and “had no experience riding motorcycles.” The Scottish sun he also reports that McLaughlan doesn’t know how to swim either.
Despite this, he managed to land in the town of Ramsey, on the northeast coast of the Isle of Man, around 13.00 – with only 10 minutes of fuel left in his tank.
He then set off on foot and walked 12 miles to the island’s capital, Douglas, and knocked on the door of his girlfriend Jessica Radcliffe’s house. The couple met in September while working legally on the island as a rooftop.
The police report shows that Radcliffe did not fully know that McLaughlan risked his life to meet her, and the couple enjoyed a meeting at the 1886 Bar & Grill and the Bordello Wine Bar in Douglas until about 1:30 p.m., December 13.
However, at this stage, local law enforcement caught up with him. Before leaving the British mainland, McLaughlan had completed a route planner for the Coast Guard. When he did not return as scheduled, the British authorities alerted the search and rescue and submitted a notification of the missing person to the local police forces.
Among them was the Isle of Man police officer, who was alerted to the presence of their new arrival. On the evening of December 13, about 16 hours after leaving the wine bar, McLaughlan was arrested.
After confessing to his plan to travel illegally in the country, he was charged with violating COVID regulations on the island and sentenced to four weeks in prison.
“There are restrictions on the island’s borders to prevent the virus from spreading,” Quayle said in a statement. “This person arrived on the island without notice of exemption or entry permit and failed to declare arrival or isolate himself.”
“This person was aware of the law and showed a blatant disregard when he chose to violate it, interfering in the community and potentially endangering lives.”
He continues: “I hope this sends a strong signal to others who do not take our laws seriously or who are mistaken in believing that the rules do not apply to them.”