Normally one does not expect a cruise ship to drop anchor in the middle of the ocean. This is, however, exactly what happened when Holland America’s cruise liner Ryndam was on its way between Costa Maya in Mexico and Tampa in November 2010.

In this case it was not the captain of the ship who decided it would be a good idea to drop anchor in the middle of a cruise – it was one of the passengers. The poor guy claims he was drunk at the time. Whether the court will fall for this excuse remains to be seen – he faces up to 20 years in prison for his prank.

The 45-year-old Californian, Rick Ehlert, entered a plea bargain in terms of which two other charges were dropped. He pleaded guilty on 19th August 2011 to a charge of “attempting to damage, destroy or disable apparatus or any other material used or intended to be used in connection with the loading or unloading of any vessel or any passenger on a vessel.”

Ehlert did not realise there was a surveillance camera recording his every move. He can clearly be seen entering the restricted area. Next he put on work gloves and without further ado drops the 18-ton stern anchor.

Fortunately there were no injuries or damage to property during the incident, since the anchor never reached the floor of the ocean.

According to Ehlert the ship’s anchor system was very similar to the one he uses on his private 50-foot boat and in his drunken state he simply could not resist the temptation to drop it.