Three men have been fined for driving 180 miles to the coast then requiring rescuing after losing their boats and becoming stranded.
Police said the trio were attempting to reach an abandoned offshore World War II sea fort when they got into bother.
All three were from different households, and broke coronavirus lockdown rules to drive from Staffordshire, West Mids to Southend-on-Sea, Essex on Sunday.
After embarking on the car trip, they then hopped on two rigid-hulled inflatable boats with outboard engines and set off down the Thames Estuary.
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Kent Police said the trio were trying to reach the derelict Red Sands Sea Fort - an anti-aircraft platform and gun emplacement positioned seven miles off the coast at Whitstable.
But the group had to call for help after they failed to tie up the boats properly while exploring the fort, and the inflatables drifted away.
This sparked an offshore rescue was launched by the Coastguard and other emergency services.
The three men, aged between 31 and 41, were brought into Sheerness Docks by lifeboat.
They told police they had spent the night in one of the nautical bastions erected during WWII to fight off the Nazis.
They were all issued with £200 fines for breaching Covid-19 regulations.
A video released by Kent Police shows an officer informing one of the men that he will be slapped with a fixed penalty notice.
He can be heard saying: "You will be issued with a Covid ticket. Obviously you know due to the national lockdown you shouldn't be gathering in more than two people outside within two metres of each other and you shouldn't be doing stuff that is non-essential which obviously your journey is clearly non-essential."
The officer then tells the trio: "There have been stories hasn't there of people going to pick up toys and stuff from out of county but you guys have definitely come from the furthest. Just don't do it again."
He told dispatch through his radio at Sheerness Docks: "These chaps are from Staffordshire.
"They've travelled down to Southend-on-Sea so far. They've then got on their own little RHIB and then they've gone to Fort Pit I believe it is.
"Their boat's gone astray and they've had to be rescued to here.
"They're not from the same household so they are going to be issued with tickets. They're in an outdoors place in a group of more than two doing an activity that is non-essential."
Sheppey Coastguard Team said the men had seen the forts on TV and wanted "a closer look".
The rescuers were called out shortly before 10am.
A spokesman said: "They decided to get out the boats and look around the forts. So they tied the boats up and started to have a look. But when they got back the RIBs had gone.
"They spent the night on the fort and called for help this morning. Thankfully the casualties were all ok just very embarrassed."
Both boats were later discovered adrift with no one on board to the initial alarm of Kent Police Marine Officers, who later safely recovered them.
The sea forts were constructed in the middle of the Thames Estuary in 1943 to help defend Britain from German naval forces and the Luftwaffe.
Its huge Maunsell gun towers were used to shoot down Nazi aircraft and doodlebugs, and attack Nazi Germany's mine-laying ships.
Assistant Chief Constable Claire Nix said: "Whilst the vast majority of people continue to abide by the latest government guidelines to help stop the spread of the virus, it is incredibly frustrating that there are still a small minority who think the rules don’t apply to them.
"We have seen examples of people who are not only behaving selfishly, but also putting unnecessary strain on the emergency services with their reckless actions.
"Whilst I understand the desire we all have to return to normality, we are still in a critical time and it is important to do the right thing, follow the guidelines, save lives and protect the NHS.
"Preventing the spread of the virus is a shared effort and all members of the public need to take personal responsibility."
The hapless trio were among 202 people fined by Kent Police last weekend for breaking Covid regulations.
