I have been away for the better part of a month on a transatlantic sail from Barbados to Malta on a five-masted square rigger. (Click here for a short video of the ship under sail.) I had limited internet access during the trip, so I am behind on posting.

I appreciate the support of readers in forwarding news of interest while I was away. I plan to work in these “catch-up” posts over the next week or two. Here is the first. Thanks to Roberta Weisbrod for passing along the story of the attempted theft of the historic fireboat John J. Harvey.

Around 2:30 AM on April 11th, Juan Hernandez, 22, reported to be a homeless immigrant from Ecuador, allegedly released the mooring lines on the John J. Harvey, a decommissioned fireboat built in 1931, from where it was docked at Pier 66 in Hudson River Park.

As the 130 ft (40 m) fireboat drifted into the Hudson River, Hernandez reportedly attempted to start the fireboat’s engines but failed. According to the police, the fireboat drifted south and ran aground a few blocks away at a point where the water was about 5 feet deep.

Hernandez then reportedly jumped into the frigid river — 46 degrees at the time, police said — and climbed into a sailboat moored at Pier 64 near W. 24th St. owned by Hudson River Community Sailing, an academy that teaches at-risk kids how to sail. Authorities say the sailboat floated for about a half mile, toward Pier 51, but Hernandez was unable to get the sails up.

The NYPD Harbor Unit tracked him down the Hudson, where he was found lying down in the sailboat.  Hernandez was charged with grand larceny.

A spokesperson for the Hudson River Park Trust, which oversees Pier 66, said the fireboat is secure and being assessed for damage.

Built in 1931, the Harvey assisted in several dramatic marine rescues, helping to put out a potentially catastrophic fire aboard the El Estero, a munitions ship docked in the New York Harbor during World War II.

It was retired in 1994, but was called back into service on the morning of 9/11 to help pick up survivors and to pump water onto the site.