Peter Hunt gave his boat a witty name.
When equipment from Sea Hunt was stolen, he used his clever nature to recover the goods.
Thank goodness for dumb thieves and social networking.
The Oak Harbor sleuth, 49, grew up on Long Island, N.Y. and in Athens, Greece.
“I began b
oating 30 years ago as a crew member on the New York wreck diving charter vessel Wahoo,” he said.
He is a former United Airlines and Navy carrier pilot, and is now semi-retired. Hunt works as a consultant and part-time medical practice manager.
“I am a member of the Oak Harbor School Board and write in my spare time,” Hunt said. “My first book, ‘Angles of Attack, an A-6 Intruder Pilot’s War’ was published by Ballantine in 2000, and a second, a personal adventure history of diving the Andrea Doria, will be published this summer.”
He moved to Oak Harbor in 1988 when he was flying A-6 Intruders in the Navy.
When there was a spate of boat thefts in the Oak Harbor area, Hunt said, Cornet Bay Marina was hit, where he moored the Sea Hunt.
“I was a little bit angry,” Hunt said. “We have a tight-knit group of boaters. They invaded our space.”
Crooks worked at night, Hunt said. Usually there are people around the marina at all hours, so it was odd to find things amiss. The thieves left a radar mount on the floating dock and a radar display might have gotten dropped.
“A few of us had blankets stolen as well,” he said. “They were doing a reverse Santa Claus, stuffing the blankets filled with electronics.”
Goods were stolen from about 25 boats, he said.
Hunt took matters into his own, stealthy hands. One stolen item was an old chart plotter, Hunt said. He said he decided to go to eBay and look to see if it was for sale.
“It showed up after a couple of days,” he said.
He was fairly certain the plotter was his, he said. It was the only one for sale in the world and there it was in Oak Harbor.
Working through eBay, one doesn’t know the seller’s personal information. Now this is where Hunt really showed his detective’s flair. He noticed that the seller also offered car stereos, minus the antennas.
He kept digging through former sales made by the seller and found a disgruntled buyer.
“I found someone out of Rhode Island who gave a bad review,” Hunt said.
The person back east provided pivotal information about the seller.
Hunt called the Island County Sheriff’s Department. He watched online sales of boat gear being made out of state and out of the country. Police gears turned slowly, but deputies eventually secured a warrant and arrested three suspects accused of breaking into boats and cars.
Hunt got back most of his possessions and other boaters got back about 90 percent of their gear.
The amateur crime fighter received one more thing: The Boat Owners Association of The United States gave Hunt $2,500 from its Theft Reward Program.
Busting a criminal on eBay or Craigslist is like a method used in the old days, said Chief Rick Wallace with the city of Oak Harbor police.
“In previous years, people would go to pawn shops,” Wallace said. “This is a modern day extrapolation of that process.”
He said if others find suspected stolen items for sale on social media lists, let the police know. If there is a reasonable belief property is stolen, the law can do it’s thing.
When the Oak Harbor boat gear was recovered, Hunt said he looked through the loot and found items he didn’t know were missing, like a stack of his DVDs.
“I got back everything except my comforter,” he said.
Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451; oharran@heraldnet.com.
Tips
The Boat Owners Association of The United States offers these tips to avoid the theft of a boat or gear:
•Keep your boat locked when you are not aboard. Never leave your keys or valuable items on the boat.
Remove electronics (if possible) and use a lock on outboards and drives.
Continue to make periodic visits to your boat when it’s in winter storage. Keep liquor out of sight of prying eyes.
If a boat is stored on a trailer, the best way to prevent a theft is to remove one or more wheels.
Keep copies of ownership documents, serial numbers and photos of your boat and equipment in a safe place off the boat for easy access, should a loss occur.
For more information, visit www.boatus.com.
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