South San Francisco Dad “Gone Crazy” By Taking Toddlers Afloat

The father who stole a boat to take his children away gives an interview.

To steal a boat, take your children aboard, and attempt to sail away forever?

Crazy. Even Christopher Maffei, the man accused of hijacking a sailboat and taking his two toddlers aboard away from their mother, admit his actions are off the wall.

Maffei had "gone crazy," he told the San Francisco Chronicle. "I knew I'd gone crazy by stealing the boat, but not about taking my kids."

Maffei, 43, is accused of stealing a 41-foot yacht from an Alameda marina on Sept. 4. He was arrested by the U.S. Coast Guard Friday night and returned to shore in shackles, the newspaper reported.

The children spent an "idyllic" three days on the yacht before he was found by authorities, who knew that he had taken the children away from their mother's South San Francisco home, the newspaper reported.

The kids were "safe" and "warm" on the boat, which Maffei stocked with supplies, he told the newspaper. They played games, ate food, and had a fine time.

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