- Deputies chased a stolen yacht through Hobe Sound, ending in a dramatic beach capture.
- The suspect, a man from Russia, allegedly stole the 65-foot vessel from a private dock.
- No injuries were reported, but the joyride caused damage to the yacht and local mangroves.
Some people unwind with coffee. Others, apparently, steal a yacht and try to outrun the police across Florida’s waterways. Mondays are rarely easy, but for one Russian national and a handful of Florida law enforcement agencies, this one came with a bit more horsepower and salt spray than usual.
Nikolai Vilkov is accused of making off with a 68-foot, $2 million yacht, then leading police on a slow-motion aquatic pursuit. The whole thing played out like a mashup of Grand Theft Auto, Miami Vice, and an improvised Arkansas-style PIT maneuver, only on water.
The whole situation allegedly started around 1 p.m. local time, when witnesses reported seeing Vilkov around the vessel at Blowing Rocks Marina. Sometime between then and 4 p.m., he apparently boarded the yacht and set off. Once the dockmaster noticed the boat was gone, they reported it stolen…