I would make a good faith effort to find out what the intent of the owner was and discuss any issues with him which concerned me. If I couldn't find him, I'd ask around. Newport is a smaller place than you might imagine, Larry. There are a lot of people there who know the owner's story. I'd try and find out what that was, including asking at the Newport Inn and Marina where 'Cha-Cha' spent the last off-season and where (as of late last summer) I know the owner was planning on docking her this past winter. That's what I'd do: I like to listen to people and hear their side of events before taking any drastic action or imposing a harsh penalty on someone. In other words, I try to be reasonable rather than just throw my weight around. That would be a wise course for Harbormasters as well, especially in a city whose economy is impacted to a great extent by the sailing community.

Jerry

PS: 'Cha-Cha' is not a 'foreign vessel' as far as I know. Her pervious owners were from the Midwest, as I can recall and her current owner is a US citizen.