Article originally appeared on www.foxnews.com.
Burglars have been raiding yachts and houseboats in the Oakland-Alameda Estuary in a surge one resident compared to the pirate movie “Captain Phillips.”
They steal anything of value, then either sink the ships or dump the remnants of plundered boats miles away in the Oakland Harbor or along its shorelines, said Dan Hill, who lives on his boat like many other families in the 800-foot waterway.
Each “attack” can cost the owner thousands to tens of thousands of dollars, Hill said.
Some in the tight-knit boating community have talked of arming themselves as jurisdiction question marks and eroding law enforcement staffing levels complicate the issue.
“It’s probably the most popular boating area in San Francisco Bay,” Hill told Fox News Digital of the Alameda side of the estuary. “The weather’s great. It’s a lovely little place that the people love going to. It’s protected. It’s beautiful.”
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