If your commute took a little longer than usual this morning, it may just have been because somebody decided a good place to abandon their boat would be on the side of the inner loop of the Beltway. Yup, a large boat was left on the left lane of the Beltway just before the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Prince George’s County this morning, creating a seven-mile backlog of morning commuters.

The boat was left on a trailer, complete with a tarp and some cones, and seems to be in good shape. It at least looks like it would probably float. At any rate, Maryland State Police are giving the owner of the boat until Thursday morning to pick it up, or else it will be impounded.

Which is their way of saying that they really hope that the owner will come get it, because towing a boat on the back of a squad car would be a real pain in the ass.

Given the sheer price of a boat like this, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where somebody would think it was a good idea to leave it on the side of Beltway. Certainly you’d be worried about it being stolen, impounded or wrecked. Until I hear otherwise, I’m going with the completely unsubstantiated theory that the boat belongs to a vicious Mexican drug cartel who quickly dumped it on the side of the road (full of cocaine of course) after it became apparent that authorities were closing in.

The moral of the story here is that if you have a boat and you don’t want to pay to park it, Prince George’s County is totally OK with your leaving it on the side of the highway.

[image via WTOP]