In November, two fellas robbed
the Barclays Bank on the East End
of Tortola Island in the British
Virgin Islands and made their getaway
on a red speedboat. Two
“well armed” cops ran down the dock where UBS Dive Center
is located, burst into the shop, and announced that they wanted
to commandeer a dive boat. Kate Brunn, the owner, said, “You
can’t take it without me!” and in short notice, had the shotguntoting
cops underway in her 27-foot dive boat.
Kate got on the VHF and asked other dive operators to be
on the lookout for the red boat. One operator replied that the
boat was off Cooper Island, heading toward Virgin Gorda. Kate
changed direction to intercept. A short time later she saw the
red boat heading right toward her and asked the police for the
procedure to stop the bank robber’s boat. The cops said they
never did this before and had no idea what to do.
Kate is a pretty sharp cookie. She took things into her own
hands and told the cops to lay down in the boat. She then cut
back the throttle and shifted into neutral, stopping her boat.
Kate, an attractive blonde, stepped onto the bow and waved her
arms as if in distress. The red boat saw her and came to her
“rescue.” As they pulled alongside, the cops popped up with
shotguns in hand and “four hands in the red boat went straight
up in the air.”
All in a day’s work for a dive operator.
--- Keith Irwin, San Jose, CA