Beaufort storm forces captain to seek shelter, lands in jail

Yahoo

18-07-2025

BEAUFORT, S.C. (WSAV) — A captain and his 11 passengers on board did what he said the hundreds of boats out on the sandbar do when an intense storm rolls in, they quickly fled.
But with every landing and dock full, he said he made what he calls the right decision, but it cost him a night in jail with a trespassing and disturbance charge.
'Everybody is safe and sound, I feel like I made the right decision. If I had to do it again, I would 100% do the same thing,' said Benji Gecy, a Beaufort native and the captain arrested in Beaufort on Saturday.
Gecy said he and the passengers on board his vessel experienced every emotion on Saturday.
He said it started as a beautiful day that quickly turned into a life-threatening situation, and eventually his arrest.
'About dead low tide, the storm started brewing pretty bad. And I saw it,' said Gecy.
So did every other boater, which created panic on the water.
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'By the time we got everybody in the boat, there was another problem because there are so many boats and anchors, it took a while to navigate off of the sandbar,' said Gecy. 'There was a lot of boat traffic already leaving and I got squeezed into an area cutting across the channel where my engine hit bottom.'
The hit caused his engine to stop working, and he said they dragged bottom for a long period of time.
This caused extra anxiety for him and the passengers on board, knowing it would take longer to get to a safe docking location.
'I looked at the city marina, boats were everywhere there. I didn't feel like I could make it any further to Factory Creek. I could already see that the boats were stacking up at Factory Creek. They were beating me there because they could drive faster than me,' said Gecy.
Gecy said the hundreds of boats fleeing caused overcrowding at all nearby landings, docks and marinas.
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'My daughter started telling me we were having lightning strikes within 600, 800, 1000 feet of the boats. So, there was a lot of panic. We did have children on the boat.'
As the passengers feared for their life, Gecy said his only option in that moment was the downtown Beaufort day dock.
'When we got there, we saw that the ramp was closed and I asked my daughter to go to the top because we were on a metal boat landing in the lightning storm,' said Gecy. 'So, I asked her to see if we could get through, and she said we could. So, we all went up and we went through it.'
The city released in a statement,
'The day dock and waterfront edge are clearly marked with no trespassing signage. Any vessels or seacraft experiencing emergencies are encouraged to seek assistance at the Marina, which is clearly open and generally staffed with personnel who could assist in obtaining aid.'
Gecy said all passengers on board hopped over the fence, with safe shelter the only thing on their mind.
'Looking for no trespassing signs with lightning like that. And you know, the panic on the boat. That's not what I was looking for. I was trying to find safety,' Gecy said. 'And I feel like, as you know, my right as a mariner and a captain, I had the right to harbor at that dock. It didn't matter to me. Even if I saw I did not see the no trespassing signs. Even if I saw them, I would have still harbored there because that was my only option.'
Gecy said he, his family, and the other passengers were met with hostility from Water Fest employees once on dry land, and eventually the police once they sought shelter.
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'I was a little disappointed. I saw one of the water festival staff members calling the police. He was, you know, really upset. Instead of trying to help us, it seemed like he was calling the cops on us type deal. And, you know, I kind of put my arms up in the air and said, you know, hey, we're just trying to get to safety, man,' Gecy said. 'When we made it to safety, we were attacked in a restaurant and kind of hunted down and they had to watch their father get arrested.'
Gecy was at Lost Locals restaurant with his family eating lunch as the storm passed. That's where he said, police arrested him.
After his arrest, Gecy said he went to the city to try and compromise by paying for the ticket violation in exchange of getting the trespassing and disturbance charges dropped. He said they refused.
'I'm trying to compromise and move on. It was an unfortunate event for the police officers, my family, the restaurant owner, and for them to take that position, I just think that's unreasonable,' said Gecy.
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