Man charged with trying to float stolen dock to Saint John

The Fredericton Rowing Club will make sure its nine-metre-long dock is better secured after a man was caught by police trying to float it down to Saint John on Wednesday night.

Fredericton Police Sgt. Paul Battis said the marine unit discovered the dock 13 kilometres down the St. John River, in Maugerville, across from the Nevers Road.

“Once they recovered the dock, there was a 65-year-old male alongside of the dock, he was subsequently arrested for theft of the dock,” he said.

David Hachey, who is from Ontario, with no fixed address, was charged on Thursday with theft, breaching a court order and being in possession of 30 grams of marijuana.

In court, Hachey was overheard saying, "No TV. No radio. Nobody bothering me. No nothing. It was peaceful."

He was remanded in custody and is scheduled to return to court on Friday for a bail hearing.

Battis said the man was questioned by police after the dock was found and he said he had hoped to get much further down the river on the make-shift raft during his three-day adventure.

“He indicated to us that he was headed to Saint John and he was going to use the dock to get there,” Battis said.

It took the police four hours to tow the dock, which is made up of more than 70 modular cubes, back to the Fredericton Aquatic Centre, where it had been stolen.

The $7,000 dock was used by the Fredericton Rowing Club and there were concerns the theft could cause the organization to cancel its learn-to-row program.

Without the dock, athletes would have had to walk their boats into the water and the club said they couldn’t get the younger rowers into a boat without the dock.

The club has now locked down the dock to stop any more would-be pirates from untying it and attempting to float away, said president Dion Dunford.

Club members are also preparing to add the extension they've spent the last several months fundraising for, he said.

The club is located behind the Victoria Health Centre and broken glass and needles have been found on the shoreline in the area.

Battis said the police believe the dock was returned in “good order.”

“I understand that [the dock’s theft] would have had quite an impact on the young rowers … good work by the marine unit, [the rowers] were extremely happy to get that,” he said.