Sailing to Denmark - Polish Police Detain Drunken Sailor on the Border with Russia

Polish police officers detained a 72-year-old drunken man in the Gulf of Gdansk on Wednesday evening who wanted to sail to Denmark on a sailing yacht but almost ended up in Russia.

This is stated in the report of the police of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.

On Wednesday evening, the Polish Border Guard asked the police to intervene in the situation with a sailing boat that was heading to the Russian Federation and had not been in touch for a long time. The water patrol arrived at the scene.

The water patrol of the police station in Krynica Morska was immediately sent to the scene, sailing in the waters of the Gulf of Gdańsk. A few minutes later, the officers reached the sailing yacht, which was more than 10 kilometres from the shore. When the police approached the boat, it was only 7 kilometres away from the border with the Russian Federation, the police said.

During the inspection, it turned out that contact with the 72-year-old owner of the sailboat was difficult.

The man could not say his name or stand on his own. He explained that he had left the port of Gdynia and wanted to get to Copenhagen. A breathalyser test showed that the man had almost 2 ppm of alcohol in his system," the police said in a statement.

The police safely escorted the man and his boat to the port of Novi Sviat for three hours. The unlucky traveller was detained and taken to the police station. Driving a yacht while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is prohibited in Poland and is punishable under Article 178a of the Criminal Code or Article 87 of the Code of Administrative Offences. He faces a sentence of up to 2 years in prison for the offence.

Earlier, Polish border guards detained and fined a 36-year-old French citizen who rammed a barrier on the border between Poland and the Russian Federation because, according to him, he was trying to get to Russia for a new life.

As reported by The Gaze, on 1 July, a nighttime alcohol ban came into effect in Krakow. From midnight to 5:30 a.m., it is prohibited throughout the city.

The ban applies to all establishments selling alcoholic beverages for off-site consumption. This includes shops, including wine shops, supermarkets, speciality stores such as wine shops, and petrol stations.

The city council members who supported the document drew attention to complaints from residents whose peace is disturbed by drunken customers, especially tourists, particularly in the centre of Krakow.

However, the nighttime ban is easy to circumvent. Employees of certain shops in the city that operate under such rules serve customers who want to buy alcohol, record the goods sold on a piece of paper, accepting cash payments for them and recording the fact of the sale at the cash register after 5:30.