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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