Salvage Rights

[zeehag]

NOT YOURS unless is international waters. inloand waters DO NOT COUNT. give it back. help kedge it off the beach and live a happy and charmed life. keep it and be messed up by bad karma and joojoo....

[goboatingnow]

Even in international waters it not yours Zeehag, its not a game of finders keepers. Thats why admiralty courts exist.

[zeehag]

there are defined rules of salvage--i did not say if it is in international waters to take it--i said donot take anything in local or inland waters. salvage rights are well defined. is bad karma and bad joojoo to take what is not yours.

[Caribsailors]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

I would have just kicked the crap out of the "captain". That's not salvage that's stealing and extortion.

Sorry, that would be Rule #2 of the Caribbean: You are not at home.

Oh yes by the way... I saved your dinghy that was locked at the dinghy dock and drifted away...

Cheers

[capn_billl]

Salvage depends on the circumstances, and agreement between owner and salvor. Off of the Texas coast a few years ago a small sailboat sunk in a shallow area in spite of the best efforts of it's owner, and several volunteers. The owner told the volunteers, "if they were able to salvage it they could keep it". They continued after the owner gave up, and were in fact able to save it hours lator.

As agreed he gave them the ship as payment for the salvage. Something to keep in mind, if you are grounded is to ask does the rescuer think this is a tow or salvage, and what they expect in return.

I would have asked the salvot of the outboard the same question, A diver could have been hired to far less than $1200.00, and even an outboard shop would have likely charged far less to blow out the water, and repair.

[sartorst]

your life and dingy in great peril!!!!!! yes I see the size of the waves!!!!!!BS

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Caribsailors

Sorry, that would be Rule #2 of the Caribbean: You are not at home.

Oh yes by the way... I saved your dinghy that was locked at the dinghy dock and drifted away...

Cheers

Id just be cleaning the shotgun when you kindly returned it. wed have a few red stripes, all would be well..

Dave

[Capt Phil]

Interesting thread... was involved in a salvage/rescue operation in the early 60's off the west coast of Vancouver Island which can be a bit tricky if a sea is running. We had just delivered a barge of black oil (fuel oil) to a native settlement north of Tofino and were tied up beside the barge when we heard a distress call on 16 from a pleasure boat that had lost its engine about 6 miles off the coast and were taking on water due to the sea conditions. Took us about 1 hour to locate her and when we came along side, the skipper requested we take he and his passengers (total of 4) aboard our towboat. His vessel was about 45 feet and ours was towboat about 65 feet. Seas were running around 10-15 feet with the odd growler over 20, not uncommon for that area.
We managed to get them aboard and my skipper asked if he wanted to attempt a tow and pointed out that it would be a salvage operation if he did. He agreed to the tow and my skipper put me aboard to secure a line. By the time we had everthing squared away, we had drifted down nearer the entrance to Barclay Sound and the best point of refuge was either Bamfield or down a long canal to Port Alberni where there was a shipyard and mechanical services. We got inside the sound out of the swell and moved his boat along side for a 'hip' tow in to Port Alberni and secured there overnight.
In the am, the guy phoned his insurance broker and returned to our boat and informed the skipper that on the advice of his insurance guy, it wasn't salvage but he would pay for the tow. At that point our towboat skipper called the RCMP who chained his boat to the dock until the legalities could be sorted out.
The eventual outcome was that the case had to go Ottawa because it was an Admiralty issue and British Columbia did not have jurisdiction. The case was finally heard in a Canadian court convened in BC province over a year later.
My time on the witness stand was brief but the case turned on the verbal agreement between the pleasure craft skipper and the towboat skipper putting a line from the tow boat aboard the pleasure boat which was unoccupied at the time and in peril of loss due to the sea conditions and imminent coastal hazards.
I don't recall the exact amount of settlement but it was at the time a percentage of the vessels value based on British Admiralty Salvage Law and considerably more than the tow would have cost.
I believe there is much more case law now, particularly in the US but it was an interesting experience at the time for a young kid... Capt Phil