Merged- Windigo Abandoned. Please Help

[captain58sailin]

those are the forms I use.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

the Tayana was not abandoned. the owner assumed the other cruiser was helping him out not offering salvage. If you accept a line in "dire" conditions you are agreeing to salvage. If the boat is abandoned it is of course salvage unless you were hired by the owner to retrieve the boat for a set price.

Critical distinctions here and also the reason I've been trying to get the benefit of the experience of others.

Only time I've taken a line was in a Zodiac with a cacked outboard...from a Shark loaded with kids who saved me about a hour of rowing in near-calm conditions.

[charliehows]

Originally Posted by capta

terminalcitygrl
Oh, but I have!
And we never called for help, even when the boat had feet of water over the floorboards; we bailed with buckets (3 of us) and manual pumps for hours, non-stop. We nailed floorboards over the companionway that had it's hatch torn off. But the boat could take it; capsized 3 times and lost a hatch, some stanchions, handrails, everything tied down on deck, etc. Didn't lose the rudder or the rig either. And that boat was built in the USA in 1909! But hey, that was a measly hurricane, not a big 50 knot blow. Pretty much the same area, though.
I do not make these "rude" comments lightly, I speak from experience and observation. If just one person chooses a safer, better built vessel for their dream adventure, because of one of my posts, then I can take all the abuse that you all want to heap on me.
Do get back to me when you've hand steered for 22 hours straight in an Atlantic storm (that killed 22 people on multiple boats). Just the whitewater on those waves was over 30 feet. It was pretty easy to judge as I had a 37 footer completely in the whitewater, time and time again.

when you get a bit more experience you might learn about a thing called the sea - apparently there isnt a boat built yet that cant be destroyed by it - most of us are lucky we havent met it in a bad moment yet. Do get back to me when your luck runs out pal.

[sneuman]

Couple in Tayana 37 stayed on station until the Beneteau crew was rescued. Pretty impressive feat under the circumstances: Yachties return to heroes' welcome - Story - NZ News - 3 News

[DumnMad]

Government money grabbers are the same all over the world, no moral values. I don't think public opinion will let them get away with this one.

Storm survivors tell Customs to back off heroes - National - NZ Herald News

[Wannabe-007]

Those money grabbing bad#&$@!s!! How dare they enforce the law! How dare they demand the import duties from these nice people!? They are good people for goodness sake!
It's not like they had any way to know they would have to pay this money!? I mean how many countries in the world require their citizens to pay tax when you buy a boat overseas and then bring it into the country!?
This is outrageous!

[Mr B]

If he is an Australian resident and bought his boat overseas, he will still be up for GST, Customs dutys, Aqis, Etc when he gets his boat to Australia,

If his boat leaves Australia within 12 months, he wont have to pay the dutys,

Thats my understanding of it,

[Mexdon]

The following is taken from the NZ customs website. It would appear they have a claim of being unfairly treated.

Temporary entry for your boat
Your boat may be granted a stay in New Zealand of up to 12 months. It is important that you keep in touch with Customs during your stay and advise early if you want any changes.

Note: Should the owner(s) of the vessel hold a NZ passport or have previously held the right of permanent residency in NZ a deposit may be required to be paid when entering a vessel temporarily.

Your boat’s stay can be longer than 12 months, but the following conditions may apply.

Customs may require that the vessel is imported permanently into New Zealand, at which point customs charges (duty and GST) will be payable.
If your extended stay is for over 12 months, Customs may require a cash deposit or security to cover the charges that would be payable if the yacht was permanently imported into New Zealand. Provided the yacht is exported within the agreed period, though, this deposit would be returned to you once you leave. If a security has been accepted it would be released in the same way.

[DumnMad]

Thanks Mexdon. Of course if fees are due they're due but undue speed, pressure and bullying is the lack of moral sense. Often happens to those who can't afford a lawyer.

[Boatguy30]

If he wants to call himself a Kiwi, he needs to pay his taxes.

[Jimbo485]

He is a very good bloke, has 3 nationalities and made the understandable mistake of using his Kiwi passport to enter NZ. Now he has to pay the taxes for being a kiwi. Bad luck!

[Nessus]

For those saying they would scuttle the vessel would you first commandeer the

Sails
Anchors
Chain
Outboard Motor
Windlass's
Winches
Running rigging
Clocks
Barometers
Binoculars
Waterproof electronics

ETC.....

Is this legal or would you only be entitled to the 20% salvage?

[S/V Alchemy]

That would be entirely conditional on circumstances of weather, sea state, damage to yacht and nearness to inhabited land, as would be a decision to take an abandoned yacht under tow.

"Finders keepers" is a flexible concept in such a case, isn't it? Because I tend to the view that you shouldn't leave a boat until you have to step up to get in the liferaft, I would find an intact, relatively dry abandoned yacht more of a mystery than an opportunity.

If it were safe to board, I would, if only to attempt to solve the mystery. I would then alert authorities, if authorities could be alerted.

I would be quite aware of the fact that I could be stepping aboard a crime scene as easily as the site of an unfortunate mishap.

If, for instance, I found a log that indicated someone was aboard less than 12 hours previously, I might consider going back on a reciprocal course to see if some poor solo sailor wasn't bobbing in the ocean 10 NM upwind.

Again, this is assuming conditions are calm or light and the day is bright and clear.

But if I found a boat empty, open to the elements, with a foot of water below and shredded sails and snarled lines, something clearly abandoned for weeks, I would assume any former occupants were beyond my aid, in one sense or the other.

Hundreds of NM from land, but still in the sailing lanes, I would indeed consider scuttling such a boat as a nav hazard. Clearing it out would be of secondary concern, as I suspect it would be, in such a scenario, in pretty rough shape, especially if the tinned goods had burst.

[Vasco]

Only came across something salvageable once. A twenty foot catamaran dink with a large Yamaha outboard. It was upside down. I knew the large catamaran motor yacht that it came from as we'd seen him a few days earlier. I remembered it thinking at the time that the motor yacht's method of carrying the dink between the two hulls looked peculiar. After getting a close look I reluctantly concluded that I should not attempt to salvage the dink as the conditions were too rough, I was afraid of damaging my own boat trying to get a line on it. Then I would have had to right it and then tow it for quite a few miles. Not an easy task given the conditions, so I put out a security call with the position and kept on sailing.

[S/V Alchemy]

That's going to be the proper course of action in the majority of cases, I think. In certain seas, it's a little dodgy to get within four or five boat lengths of something just drifting.

It's close enough to read a name or a number, however, and presumably to yell or sound a horn to see if anyone's actually aboard and conscious.