AFP: “A lovesick Scottish man who bought a jet-ski so he could evade lockdown measures to visit his girlfriend in the Isle of Man has been jailed for breaching coronavirus restrictions, reports said. Dale McLaughlan from Ayrshire in southern Scotland met his girlfriend while working as a roofer on the island in the Irish Sea in September, the BBC reported Tuesday. Coronavirus restrictions on the tax haven mean non-residents currently require special permission to land on the island.”
“But after returning to Scotland when his contract ended, McLaughlan was denied permission to re-enter the island, the BBC said. Undeterred, the 28-year-old bought a jet-ski and set off last Friday to make the 25 mile sea-crossing by stealth. He had never ridden a jet-ski before and expected the journey to take around 40 minutes, prosecutors told a court in Douglas, the island’s main town, according to the BBC. But the journey across the choppy waters – which have an average December temperature of around 46 degrees, according to Ireland’s meteorological service – took over four hours. He then had to walk 15 miles to his girlfriend’s home. On Sunday he was arrested by police after they found out he had arrived illegally and visited nightclubs with his girlfriend.”