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Another point worth noting - although laws might vary by country or juristriction - are the responsibilities a skipper and crew carry for the wages they get paid.
Recently there was a case in the UK where a skipper was engaged to deliver a new large power boat only 60 miles along the UK south coast back to the builders yard. By the sound of the press reports he was only offered $200 or so for the delivery trip - and took appeared to take it on for the fun for driving a big power boat. The skipper in turn invited another pal to come with him as crew, sharing the $200 between them.
At night they set waypoints on major buoys and set off from the Solent with the crewman on watch. As they exited the Narrows Channel there was some confusion on the course set and possibly some equipment failure - and the skipper was called whilst both grovelled around trying to sort the issues - just when the boat hit a large metal buoy at speed.
If that were not bad enough, if they had not slowed down maybe they would have got home. But backing off the power saw the hole they'd created in the bow sink below water level with expected results - the new boat filled and foundered.
Both got off safely but in the ensuing court case both were found to be responsible. The crewman as he was supposedly on watch, and the skipper because he was the skipper. The owners insurance company took both to the cleaners even though they'd only been paid a pittance for the work done - and I believe one of these guys was made bankrupt as a result.
So assuming similar responsibilities may exist in other parts of the world - one should never forget the responsibilities a skipper (and clearly in this case crew also) take when sailing someone else's boat.
Its worth remembering that when one thinks about making them pay for a sandwich, eh?
Cheers
JOHN
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