A (very short) West 12th Road Pirate Tale....

Lenny DeVirgilio doing his "Happy Pirate Dance" aboard Dan Mundy's boat

On Monday evening, October 21, 2013, at approximately 11:00 pm, a boat that had broken loose from its' mooring began noisily hitting against the concrete debris that litters the outfall at the bay end of West 12th Road.

After hearing the noise, Lenny DeVirgilio, his wife, Sophia and Mike McLoughlin, went to investigate.

While Lenny and Mike worked at temporarily securing the craft, Sophia contacted several neighbors by cell phone, sending pictures of the boat in an effort to identify the owner.

After a period of time it was determined that the errant boat belonged to Dan Mundy Sr. of W14th Road.

After securing the boat, Lenny  spoke to his wife and Mike about the possibility of a reward in line with the maritime law of salvage which states that a person who recovers another person's ship or cargo after peril or loss at sea is entitled to a reward commensurate with the value of the property so saved.

After giving her husband a "Gibbs" to the back of his head, Sophia reminded Lenny that the vessel in question must have been abandoned by its owners/operators in order for the law of salvage to apply.

Lenny thought hard for a moment, smiled, and then jumped back on the boat and proclaimed, "I am Captain Lenny of the W12th Road Privateers and do hereby hold this craft for ransom,  Any attempt at rescue without ransom with be met with cannon fire" and proceeded to do his version of the "pirate happy dance".  

Lenny then asked Mike if he could rustle him up a cannon - ..."just in case" Lenny added.

Mike replied "sure" and ran up the the block back to his house.

A few minutes later Mike returned and surrendered his "Canon" 35mm digital camera to Lenny.

As Lenny was examining Mike's camera wondering where he could insert a cannon ball, Dan Mundy Sr. arrived in the area. 

Lenny jumped off the boat stating "..heck with the ransom, its getting cold out here..." and surrendered the vessel to its rightful owner peacefully.

I know, its just a very short West 12th Road Pirate tale with a happy ending - but, it was the neighborly thing to do!