Charges against owner of beached yacht dropped

The sailor who lost his yacht during Hurricane Irene was cleared of three charges Thursday.

A Norfolk General District Court judge dismissed misdemeanor charges against Michael Calabrese of being drunk in public and damaging property. A show-cause warrant also was dismissed, according to court records.

Calabrese said he and his girlfriend tried to outrun the August storm in their 42-foot boat, Maybe Tomorrow, but they were blown ashore and rescued on Willoughby Spit. The boat remained on the beach until the city removed it after it was destroyed by a fire.

After the rescue, Calabrese was charged three times with being drunk in public, according to court records. Two of those charges have now been dismissed, court records show.

Calabrese, 48, still has charges of trespassing, being drunk in public, and failure to appear in court pending in Norfolk General District Court, according to court records. He is scheduled to appear in court on the charges in November, according to the records.