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'Drunk' woman plunders the seven seas of Dartmouth
Other | Friday 21st September 2012 | Osh
We’ve all been there. On a night out, with a few too many drinks, and things get out of hand. However, a woman from Devon took it to the next level when she decided to steal a 45-foot ferry in Dartmouth to live out her dreams as a pirate.
Alison Whelen, 51 from Paignton, ended a two-day bender of Lambrini and deadly nightshade (a plant which causes hallucinations) with a trip down the River Dart, smashing into other boats whilst yelling “I’m Jack Sparrow! I’m a pirate!”
Whelen boarded The Dart Princess, a 100-seat ferry, with a friend after undoing the mooring ropes because she kept tripping over them. Obviously, spending days on cheap fizzy and hallucinogenic drugs is sure to have made stepping over ropes a bit tricky, but to go on to stealing the boat they’re attached to is a bit extreme.
The eventful night, which took place last year, began with Whelan calling paramedics after claiming to have had a seizure. Whilst this may very well be true thanks to her lambrini-nightshade cocktail, the ambulance crew merely found her drunk and hysterical, and in the company of Tristam Locke, a friend who pushed over one of the medics.
Due to this, the medics called the police and returned to their vehicle to wait. At this point, the image of Whelan and Locke drifting past on a ferry appeared in their mirror, no doubt causing a bit of a shock.
Thirty police, a lifeboat crew, Coastguards and more paramedics were called, only to be taunted by Whelan, who shouted: “What are you going to do now?” and “I believe this is out of your jurisdiction!”
After an hour of pirating down the River Dart, the ferry eventually washed up in shallow water after suffering £1500 of damage caused when it hit two other boats including a £70,000 catamaran, causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage.
When eventually police caught Whelan, all she had to say for herself was: “We’d have ended up in St. Tropez if we hadn’t been caught.” Surely it would’ve been better just to visit a good travel agent.
Whelan was eventually charged with aggravated vehicle taking (a charge which she had the confidence to deny), and like all good pirates, was yesterday sent to jail for 122 days. Hopefully, she won’t get her hands on any more Pirates of the Caribbean films in prison.
By David Pratt
