Stonington police say they’ve received no complaints. Local harbormasters report no sightings or complaints.
But indeed he is out there, as in butt-naked out there, standing with his fishing pole in a runabout trolling the waters from Ram Island to Sandy Point, and this is not his first summer of full exposure to the sun.
Of course, that also means he is amply available for public viewing as well.
He is known prosaically as “The Naked Fisherman” and more suggestively as “Capt. Crack.”
The thing is, despite all the chatter on social media forums, it seems to be playing out as: What’s the big deal?
Is this behavior a crime?
Connecticut General Statute 53a-186 labels public indecency as a Class B misdemeanor.
The statute then spells out:
“(a) A person is guilty of public indecency when he performs any of the following acts in a public place: (1) An act of sexual intercourse as defined in subdivision (2) of § 53a-65; or (2) a lewd exposure of the body with intent to arouse or to satisfy the sexual desire of the person; or (3) a lewd fondling or caress of the body of another person. For the purposes of this section, “public place” means any place where the conduct may reasonably be expected to be viewed by others.”
From what I’ve been told and read — I have not encountered him — he’s out there fishing, and he’s naked.
That may constitute nudism, benignly, or exhibitionism, less indulgently, but it doesn’t appear to fall under any of the above acts of public indecency.
Breach of peace or disorderly conduct might apply but, again, what’s he doing, exactly, and in whose judgment?
For the record, a misdemeanor is defined as: “Usually a petty offense, a less serious crime than a felony, punishable by less than a year of confinement.”
According to the state: “A class B misdemeanor is punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. (Conn. Gen. Stat. § § 53a-36, 53a-42.) Embezzlement of property worth $500 to $1,000 is a class B misdemeanor.”
Photos of the as yet publicly unidentified mystery angler are available on the Stonington Community Forum page on Facebook, as are a wealth of comments. A friend, Dennis Regan, of Mystic, took a few photos a couple of weeks ago between Ram Island and Enders Island and sent them along.
As for the online comments, here’s a sampling:
“Clearly he hasn’t tanned that butt so he’s not naked all the time he’s outside. Spare us!”
“I want to go fishing.”
“Why is every picture of this guy a mile away zoomed in?”
“Let him live his life.”
“A man of culture.”
“He freed Willy.”
“I genuinely look forward to the naked boat man posts every summer on the community forums. What an absolute legend.”
And from last summer:
“To this boater who felt it necessary to strip down on a Sunday afternoon at 3 on the Mystic River: Totally unnecessary. Luckily we were behind him with kids on the boat.”
“The funniest part is that the one complaining about it is the one seeing it, getting focused on this and ZOOMING it and POSTING it so it becomes more seen instead of hidden. It tells a lot.”
I’ve spoken with harbormasters for the Mystic River, Masons Island, Lords Point and Stonington Harbor and none said he’d seen this fellow or received any complaints. Neither do they have any authority to do much about it other than to suggest he keep himself under wraps, or at least sit down.
He’s not a phantom or a figment of anyone’s graphic imagination. Several of the online posts make suggestions as to who the fisherman is and I’m not sure whether they’re genuine guesses or playful indictments.
In any case, he’s made the news and he’s in the nude, and whether he’s fishing for sport or for attention, I, too, have taken the bait.
Steven Slosberg lives in Stonington and was a longtime reporter and columnist. He may be reached at maayan72@aol.com.
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