True, but if your wife had the heart attack you could deploy the sea anchor or even stay with the ship. As John Quinonez would ask, "What would you do?"
Anyone have any info.
- Thread starter sailaway78
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By any standard the boat is adrift and abandoned. Whomever "finds" it, either on their own, or at the request and assistance of the owner can claim salvage rights.
Assuming it is found by someone at the request of the owner, they will have already negotiated the price and details before they started looking, however if someone was enterprising and finds it and tows it to port, secures it, and watches over it, they have a legitimate (and legal) salvage claim right over that boat, and they do not have to return the boat to the owner until that is paid.
I'm not 100% certain of this part, but I believe the salvage claim can be up to 30% of the value of the boat plus expenses, however I believe it's normally limited to 10-15% if the boat is not in danger of sinking, or requiring of significant risk to the salvor to save the boat. The 20%+ claims are limited to extreme situations.
I salvaged a 27' center console adrift in the Drake Channel near Peter Island, B.V.I. (someone had towed it out of the marina pre-dawn attempting to steal it, but failed to get the engines started, so instead they set it adrift). The local police got word that I had rescued the boat shortly before it went against the rocks and had tracked down the owner by the time we got back to Road Town (We had first taken the boat to Nanny Cay).
We were given the option of going through the claim process in court, or accepting a $500 bar tab pre-paid for us by the owner at the Pirate's Bight Restaurant on Norman Island (out intended destination that evening). We took the $500 bar tab, ordered the best things on the menu and drank until we couldn't drink anymore, and told the bar and wait staff to keep the rest of the tab as a tip, which was around $125. We had told them early that whatever was left was their tip, so our drinks were extra strong all night The next morning we returned our boat to the charter company and headed home.
Assuming it is found by someone at the request of the owner, they will have already negotiated the price and details before they started looking, however if someone was enterprising and finds it and tows it to port, secures it, and watches over it, they have a legitimate (and legal) salvage claim right over that boat, and they do not have to return the boat to the owner until that is paid.
I'm not 100% certain of this part, but I believe the salvage claim can be up to 30% of the value of the boat plus expenses, however I believe it's normally limited to 10-15% if the boat is not in danger of sinking, or requiring of significant risk to the salvor to save the boat. The 20%+ claims are limited to extreme situations.
I salvaged a 27' center console adrift in the Drake Channel near Peter Island, B.V.I. (someone had towed it out of the marina pre-dawn attempting to steal it, but failed to get the engines started, so instead they set it adrift). The local police got word that I had rescued the boat shortly before it went against the rocks and had tracked down the owner by the time we got back to Road Town (We had first taken the boat to Nanny Cay).
We were given the option of going through the claim process in court, or accepting a $500 bar tab pre-paid for us by the owner at the Pirate's Bight Restaurant on Norman Island (out intended destination that evening). We took the $500 bar tab, ordered the best things on the menu and drank until we couldn't drink anymore, and told the bar and wait staff to keep the rest of the tab as a tip, which was around $125. We had told them early that whatever was left was their tip, so our drinks were extra strong all night
The next morning we returned our boat to the charter company and headed home.
wellllllllllllllllllll if it were my x wife i would stay with the boat:dance:........i am single now and have no wife so if i were in that predicament now i would just die on the boat and have them lash me to the deck and set it on fire and set it adrift like a Vikings funeral........but if i am married later on and that happened i would tend to first things first..... that being secure the boat as best i could and go with the wife...they make more boats but i would bet if i have a new wife this late in life...i would think i had made a good choice......True, but if your wife had the heart attack you could deploy the sea anchor or even stay with the ship. As John Quinonez would ask, "What would you do?"
regards
woody
I believe in the "Old Days" they used to sign on a cat or pet as part of the crew on ships. If you were forced to abandon it , there was still a crew member aboard. Don't know how true but cool story anyways.
But it was anchored.
If you have to leave your sailboat crewless away from a dock then no matter how deep the water is you should throw out your big anchor with all the rode you have. Then you can claim you left it anchored even though you suspect the anchor was not holding. If you are lucky it will become anchored before blowing ashore.
If you have to leave your sailboat crewless away from a dock then no matter how deep the water is you should throw out your big anchor with all the rode you have. Then you can claim you left it anchored even though you suspect the anchor was not holding. If you are lucky it will become anchored before blowing ashore.
There's about 250 years of case law about what happens in salvage in the US - another 400 or so years if you include England. I expect the old "my anchor was over on a long rope" or "I left my cat aboard" idea has been tried a few times
Salvage cases have their own lawyers, courts, rules and judges but essentially the court determines a "fair" compensation for the salvor based on a long list of factors including danger, effort, etc. Since colonial times the courts have wanted to encourage salvors to rescue ships (and their cargoes) so the awards are often quite high. 30%-50% is not unusual.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_salvage
Salvage cases have their own lawyers, courts, rules and judges but essentially the court determines a "fair" compensation for the salvor based on a long list of factors including danger, effort, etc. Since colonial times the courts have wanted to encourage salvors to rescue ships (and their cargoes) so the awards are often quite high. 30%-50% is not unusual.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_salvage
Owner and still owner
If the owner and at the time in-effect insurance won't stand up for themselves, I would think they would be shooting themslves in the foot. Thus, more and more often, abandoned boats are found with their serial IDs ground out.
I think Florida and California have both set cases on this. Abandoning a boat does not relinquish you of your ownership and subsequent responsibilities. If you were responsible enough to have insurance, I think a good judge would also anforce any policy benefit that was for the good of the public.
If the owner and at the time in-effect insurance won't stand up for themselves, I would think they would be shooting themslves in the foot. Thus, more and more often, abandoned boats are found with their serial IDs ground out.
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Salvage rights aside, no one seems to be asking "What were two people- one with a heart condition- doing alone in a 64' sailboat?" Just today, I had a walk-through tour of a 60' sailboat, the biggest I've ever personally seen, and it was ENORMOUS! Three full staterooms, each with a separate head, with a galley bigger than my home kitchen. The engine and machinery room alone had a volume bigger than the interior of my 37' Hunter. The point is, I cannot imagine a boat of this size to be manned by a single person (the wife) under duress if the husband has a heart condition.
I don't want to sound unsympathetic- I have a heart condition too- but I believe that the captain of a vessel has the responsibility to maintain control of that vessel, and I don't see how this could realistically be accomplished by a single woman in a 64' sailboat. I believe that boat was seriously undermanned, and a crew of three or four able-bodied sailors would be needed to tend to a boat that size. I'm sure a lot of sailors out there would maintain that they could do it, but could they do it with their spouse possibly dying before their eyes? And I agree that leaving a boat that large adrift could present a navigational hazard, and would be irresponsible seamanship. This should have been thought through before the owners set out to sea. I believe this was a bad decision by the owners- if you can afford a ship that can comfortably sleep 20, you can afford to staff it adequately.
I don't want to sound unsympathetic- I have a heart condition too- but I believe that the captain of a vessel has the responsibility to maintain control of that vessel, and I don't see how this could realistically be accomplished by a single woman in a 64' sailboat. I believe that boat was seriously undermanned, and a crew of three or four able-bodied sailors would be needed to tend to a boat that size. I'm sure a lot of sailors out there would maintain that they could do it, but could they do it with their spouse possibly dying before their eyes? And I agree that leaving a boat that large adrift could present a navigational hazard, and would be irresponsible seamanship. This should have been thought through before the owners set out to sea. I believe this was a bad decision by the owners- if you can afford a ship that can comfortably sleep 20, you can afford to staff it adequately.
Greg, please don't get me wrong here but whether she (or he) did the right thing is not really the point of the thread. Whether they should have had a crew or not is also not the point. It really was about what would happens to an abandoned boat left in the middle of the Gulf.
I agree that a boat that large would be difficult at best for a woman or a man to handle alone but these newer boats are built and advertised that they can be handled by a couple and/or single handed. It does not take much to drop the sails and start the motor, radio shore and ask for assistance. Again, not the point, as you say, she was watching her ill husband and that was most important.
IMHO
Nodak7
That's kinda what I was thinking as well. The club I belong to has boats ranging from 16 to 55' and if anything once you get past 40' the boats actually become easier to handle by yourself with powered winches and sails that furl into the mast. I often sail their boats single handed, and I'm not exactly an experienced open ocean sailor. It's still just a main sheet and a pair of jib sheets, and furling lines for each. I'd like to think that the owner of a boat that size would know how to work it, and would be capable of handling it themselves.
So.... How is the guy/owner doing? Has anyone heard if retrieval of the boat is in the cards for them? I think it would be for me in this situation....
Would the boat be deemed free to salvage if it was set adrift off it's mooring by vandals? How would it be different than being set adrift by the CG?
Would the boat be deemed free to salvage if it was set adrift off it's mooring by vandals? How would it be different than being set adrift by the CG?
So, subsequent reports said this was a 64 footer and there was a lot of specuation about salvage and ownership and who shot Jr.
I wish I knew all those answers but, I have to say for most questions I don't have the first dang clue. Maybe she was a an early 64 footer and liked the wind in the morning. And maybe she didn't have any barnicles. I'm an educated man, but I'm afraid I can't speak intelligently about the travel habits of the SV Santiago or any other boat.
What I do know is that there is an auction set for Sat, Apr 27 09:30 AM. That is for a 1984 47' Vagabond 47 Ketch Sailboat was lightly damaged when it’s former owners were air lifted off due to a medical emergency. The vessel sailed by itself for 11 days before it was recovered and her former owners were paid according to their claim.
You can go to http://www.usauctions.com/ item 9526 to see the same.
But I wonder, are these the questions I was really called here to answer? Salvage rights and insurance claims? Please let me know if there something more.
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