DA: Would-be sea captain did a ferry bad thing; could get tossed in the brig

A Malden man faces charges for an incident last Christmas in which he allegedly untied a Boston Harbor ferry and took it for a float in the harbor.

State, Boston and Massport police and the Boston Fire harbor unit responded to a report of an adrift vessel to find Samuel LeClair, 62, alone on Boston Harbor Cruises' 68-foot passenger ferry Fort Independence in the middle of the harbor. According to the DA's office:

LeClair allegedly made statements to police that he had untied the vessel at Long Wharf and that his girlfriend - whom he identified as Stevie Nicks - was the boat's captain and driver.

The DA's office adds:

Police did not locate the iconic singer-songwriter or any other person onboard.

After tying the boat up at the Moakley Courthouse dock, police took LeClair to Mass. General for observation. Police eventually obtained a complaint against him for larceny over $250, but by then, he had jumped ship at MGH, the DA's office says.

Prosecutors hoped to anchor LeClair with $1,500 bail, but Judge Thomas C. Horgan today ruled against avast amount like that and instead released him on on his own recognizance. He did order him to not make any waves and to stay aweigh from the Boston waterfront in particular and from any boat anywhere in general.

Innocent until proven a scurvy dog.