Sailboat sinks at mooring Hamburg Cove, Lyme, Ct

[Will Gilmore]

But then the city or county would be opening themselves to legal ramifications.

I would think the obvious imminent danger the town acted to prevent would be addressed by the maritime Law of Salvage.
"A salvor only needs to show a vessel is in actual or imminent danger to establish the first element of a salvage claim. (The other two ingredients are "voluntariness" (meaning you didn't have some preexisting obligation to assist) and "success" (meaning you saved or contributed to saving the vessel).
https://www.saltwaterlaw.com/SaltWa...-Law-Of-Salvage-What-it-takes-to-make-a-.aspx
More from this website:
"The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (think the appellate court of the Southeast United States) just highlighted with canary yellow marker what entitles you to make a salvage claim. And by doing so, the court refastened the established elements of maritime salvage law."
This is about a case where a salvor was denied a salvage claim by the wrong law and the The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, on appeal, the correct law and, in so doing, clarified the conditions of salvage.
The article goes on to say, "... the Eleventh Circuit correctly ruled that "maritime peril" stands alone. That is, a salvor does NOT need to show that the salved vessel was a necessary element to the vessel's rescue. Instead, the salvor only has to show that the vessel was under a "maritime peril." Fire, groundings and flooding with seawater are pretty classic examples of maritime peril. After that jump shot, the Eleventh Circuit didn't just walk off the court. Instead, it went on to remind its audience that the public policy of salvage is to encourage mariners to come to the aid of vessels in distress and "to do so before it is a do-or-die wager with high risks." "

Buy that standard, the town need not fear legal or financial repercussions.

What I don't know, is what that says about a vessel that has already suffered the peril.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[rgranger]

Hey guys it’s me Frank DiNardi again. The one that filmed a video. I cannot assure you enough that the owner was on hand and knows everything about the boat. He simply does not give two craps about it

Thank you Frank. Those are haunting photos.

 

[capta]

There are very few boats I would prefer over this one, but the Little Harbors I would.
Only two scenarios come to mind. In this market, when you have a half million dollar boat and can't sell it......
The other is a sick or dead owner who had no family or friends willing to care for the boat, just because she was a lovely thing needing love and care.
Sad, either way.
We have an online acquaintance who had a Pearson 530. He made a lot of really stupid mistakes when commissioning it to sail to the Caribbean, like removing the genset and installing a refer system with no water cooling, which he said worked wonderfully in the Chesapeake but later found out not so much in the tropics, especially w/no genset.
Along comes, Irma and he moves his boat from the relative safety of PR to an open anchorage in St. John. Well, his insurance paid off and he's now got a 72 footer to screw up!

 

[frankd32]

Hey Will, I know you’re very active on this site. The sunk sailboat was removed from Hamburg Cove yesterday and I got beautiful video of it. I think I was able to post it on a new thread. But just wanted to contact you as well about it figuring you can navigate the site way better than I can.

 

[jssailem]

Thanks Frank.
What is the back story? Is this a salvage or a recovery? What caused the sinking?

 

[frankd32]

So Iam still unsure. Nobody has directly told me what caused of the sinking of the boat. I still don’t know why it was left out there throughout the winter. This was a very big story in the area. It made it into several of the biggest newspapers in Connecticut and was all over the local news channels. The owners were contacted for comment but they declined everything. I have not heard from them, nobody that I know has heard from them. The boat was brought to a local marina, not sure if they are planning on fixing it up or not.

 

[Will Gilmore]

Thanks for the follow up.

What a beauty, even after over a month in the water. I would be interested to hear the answers to JS's questions. Frozen seacocks seems a sure bet. I want to know if the owners are still involved or if they washed their hands of it.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[TomY]

Nice footage!

The bill will set a record for the most expensive haul out ever charged. Should have taken advantage of the fall rate.

 

[shemandr]

Oh, the joinery...

 

[rgranger]

Even with all of the speculation as to why the owner let it sink... I can't help but wonder. Even if you simply had no time to deal with it .... seems you could have run it to ground and kept it from sinking all of the way under. That would have taken all of 20 minutes.

 

[rgranger]

Nice footage!

The bill will set a record for the most expensive haul out ever charged. Should have taken advantage of the fall rate.

I also noticed a small oil slick in the video. YES! Probably going to cost a few dollars more than a typical haul out.

 

[frankd32]

So I still do not really know anything about the owners. The boat got brought to a local Marina and taken out of the water yesterday. I do not know what is going to happen with the boat from here on. I’m also still unclear about what caused the actual sinking of the boat. Yes you guys are right. There was a little bit of fuel or oil spill above the water there. And I’ll tell you what, for being underwater for a month she still looked beautiful

 

[frankd32]

Few more pics

 

[TomY]

Oh, the joinery...

Yeah, I recall a few nice yachts sinking in our harbors. They weren't down for long and damage wasn't as extensive as you might think. Wood is pretty tough, but if you soak it long enough, it expands. Once that boat dries out I suspect the water damage will be extensive.

There doesn't seem to be any reason not to haul and safely store a boat like that, for a few winters, except lack of $$. All it takes is a phone call and a pen to write a check. Done.

So I think it's unlikely the boat was insured. Even if it was, the coverage would have needed to be increased to cover it in the water over the winter(if that is even available it would be expensive).

Further, that means the boat may not receive any after sinking precautions, like engines, rinsing salt water, etc.

Sinkings - no matter the cause, are an insurance claim for insured boats, as long as the sinking falls within the policy dates and wasn't fraud induced. Without insurance (or coverage denied due to season), what will happen?

I wonder if this isn't a 'boat for sale - as is' in the making?

 

[Brian D]

So then this raises the question (to bet the question would be incorrect), what did boats of yesteryear do during the winter? I doubt that they had boat lifts and I am sure the square riggers were stuck in the harbor during winter.

Enquiring minds what to know.

 

[jon hansen]

before travel lift, a sturgeon bay company, they had rail systems to get yachts out. before that they had oxen. square riggers could withstand the ice as they were thick. they also did not last all that long.

 

[AlastairLC]

(to bet the question would be incorrect)

I think you mean “beg the question” Brian, but yes, “beg” is incorrect. Very common mistake.

 

[Brian D]

And to not proof-read is a cardinal sin. LOL

 

[jssailem]

Go forth and sin no more... A penance my son read out loud two pages of the Oxford English Dictionary.

 

[Brian D]

Go forth and sin no more... A penance my son read out loud two pages of the Oxford English Dictionary.

This is a harsh punishment for a minor crime. May I suggest first three chapters of Bowditch's American Practical Navigator in lieu of a foreign language dictionary? Seeing that I am not English nor from Oxford.