Scott Keen, from Morden, Surrey, deliberately took his boat into a closed off section of the River Thames during the Kingston Regatta and swore at rowers as he swamped them with water
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Thames rowing regatta interrupted by brazen motorboat
A foul-mouthed boat owner deliberately steered at rowers during a Thames regatta shouting that they “don’t own the f***ing water.”
Scott Keen has been fined for heading into a closed-off part of the river at Kingston-upon-Thames in July last year and causing chaos on the water. The 48-year-old from Morden, Surrey, took his unregistered boat, the Barney McGrew, over the racing line and forced another vessel to take evasive action to avoid a collision.
Staines Magistrates’ Court heard that Keen also swamped rowers at the Kingston Amateur Regatta which has been running since 1852. He ignored requests to go back and shouted at the rowers saying: “You don’t own the f***ing water.”
Keen was alleged to have navigated his boat dangerously and used abusive language at other river users. He was also found guilty of obstructing a boat race and interfering with the safety of persons gathered, failing to comply with a harbour master’s notice, and failing to register his boat for use on the Thames.
He was made to pay £4,334.54 in fines, compensation and costs. A statement from the Environment Agency over the incident read: “His actions and the way he navigated his vessel endangered the safety of those present at the Regatta, included young scullers in rowing boats. An eyewitness captured the full extent of the drama on a mobile phone.”
Maria Herlihy, operations manager at the Environment Agency and harbour master of the Thames, said: “This incident was a disgrace. Keen showed no regard for the safety of other river users and could easily have caused a tragedy. Quite frankly, it was no surprise to discover that his boat was unregistered, and we are happy with the court result.
“We hope that this serves as a clear warning to all – anti-social and dangerous behaviour on our rivers will not be tolerated, and we will take robust action to deal with those who disregard the rules and regulations for boating on the River Thames.”
The magistrates fined Keen the maximum penalty of £1,000 for interfering with the boat race and navigating his boat without due care and attention and the court explained that “it used its discretion to go outside the sentencing guidelines to deal with the matter robustly” said the Environment Agency which added: “The court heard the incident was shocking in its totality, with clear criminality that endangered the safety of other people, including the young people involved in the regatta.”
