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Man didn’t know how to swim before using jet ski to cross Irish Sea to visit girlfriend

A love-struck British Romeo who landed in hot water after riding a jet ski across the Irish Sea to visit his gal pal amid the coronavirus pandemic had less than 10 minutes of fuel left — and doesn’t even know how to swim, according to reports.

Scotsman Dale McLaughlan, 28, who never rode a water scooter before, spent four-and-a-half hours on the craft in his madcap dash to visit his new girlfriend on the Isle of Man.

The North Ayrshire man was jailed for four weeks on Monday after admitting to arriving there unlawfully, according to reports.

“The craziest thing is he can’t even swim,” a family source told the Daily Mail about McLaughlan, describing him as a “nice lad, but thick as a brick.”

A police source also told the Isle of Man Newspapers that the man’s watercraft only had 10 minutes of fuel left after the 25-mile journey, which he initially thought would only take 40 minutes, when he encountered rough weather.

And making matters even worse for the romantic adventurer, his trip also got him in trouble with his mother, because he’ll miss Christmas with his two kids since he’ll spend it behind bars, the Daily Mail reported.

Jessica Radcliffe
Jessica Radcliffe Facebook

But his supporters have said he “deserves a medal, not prison” for surviving the dangerous trip from Scotland’s Isle of Whithorn since he had never been on a jet ski before.  

He walked 15 miles to his girlfriend Jessica Radcliffe’s home in the Isle of Man’s capital, Douglas, on Friday, but was arrested after being stopped during a night of drinking, according to the news outet.

McLaughlan’s defense attorney told Douglas Courthouse that the roofer was suffering from depression from not being unable to see his new partner, who was not identified in the report.

However, Deputy High Bailiff Christopher Arrowsmith said McLaughlan had made a “deliberate and intentional attempt to circumnavigate” the border restrictions.

Dale McLaughlan and Jessica Radcliffe
Dale McLaughlan and Jessica Radcliffe Facebook

Meanwhile, Radcliffe, who has two school-age daughters, is not in trouble with the law but will have to spend Christmas in quarantine because of her boyfriend’s ill-fated voyage.