Treasure Cay. Boat adrift.

[moseriw]

So what? before it breaks loose GO ONBOARD and fix it. There is no room for ressentiments at this stage. Spend or buy them a new mooring line. I bet the will weight in in gold when the mention it and YOU beeing the Hero.

even with the stranded. If ou can secure it - DO it DONT ASK MOVE!

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

I have a similar personal rule. If we're anchored............keys are in the ignitions

That is the same with everyone that I know.

[Scorpius]

I find this whole saga most concerning. What a HUGE shame to lose a boat for the want of a cheap piece of rope - particularly as the situation was easily predictable and easily prevented.

I assume the people using these buoys are paying for the "privilege". If so, I would hope the owner or operator of the business, particularly in these times when owners cannot get back to their boats as planned because of Covid-19 travel restrictions, would regularly check the boats on their buoys and take corrective action where called for. Heck, add $10 to their bill for the piece of rope. I'm sure that when they eventually get back they will happily pay it when they hear the story.

And if the buoy owners/operators won't do it I would hope some good Samaritan in the anchorage would take it upon himself to do the deed.

What have we come to? Sailors help sailors (it's the Law of the Sea), Cruisers help Cruisers, Humans help Humans. I find it incredible that ANYBODY would watch, or be aware of, a disaster unfolding and just sit back and watch.

What have we come to?

[The Perfessor]

NewLazyDays, kudos for taking action. Re-affirms that humans are basically good people! Group9, sorry you got the "no good deed goes unpunished" treatment; it sounded more like police not understanding that the boat was TAKING ON WATER and, thus, should be taken into consideration during their assessment. Don't let it kill your "Good Samaritan" tendency; you still did the right thing.

I have helped, and been helped, by many sailors most of whom I didn't know. That's what makes our community great!

[PuttingDoctor]

Sandy’s Way was totaled by Dorian as it lay in the yard at Marsh Harbour. The Canadian registration hasn’t been updated it seems. John and Sandy have purchased another boat a 36’ Catalina.

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by Group9

After a friend and I went aboard a boat, where we knew the owner, and that appeared to be taking on water, and had someone in the marina call the police on us, and after standing with a deputy, for ten minutes, waiting for us to contact the owner (we had to hunt for his phone number), and getting him to call back, to find out if he wanted to press charges, and finally getting him on the phone, and him saying he knew us and everything was all right, I made a vow to myself that I would never get on another boat again, belonging to someone else, no matter what.

And, this was a guy we knew, who we knew was going to thank us, if we ever got a hold of him. Standing there like that, waiting to hear what a stranger wanted to have done with us?

No thanks. That incident cured the Good Samaritan right out of me completely.

This story is sort of odd. Was your boat also in the same marina?? If so, you would think it could be straightened out with the office. You are either in a seasonal or transient slip and a neighbor boat appeared to be taking on water.

Otherwise, I have to admit it would seem like an odd situation. You're on an unoccupied vessel, no ties to the marina and only your word that you know the owner of the vessel.

I'm curious which it is, because the former would leave me frustrated. The latter.....well you have to acknowledge that the marina neighbor is also being a 'good samaritan' in that case as well. After all, IF you don't have a boat in the marina, and are not a guest of a boat owner present, it begs the question why you were there at all. Most marinas consider you simply being on the dock in that situation as trespassing.

[newlazydays]

For those that don't know, Treasure Cay is in the Abaco Islands, Bahamas. Last year hurricane Dorian did untold damage here. I lost my own boat in Green Turtle Cay during the same storm.



The original boat adrift incident happened the night I arrived on the buoys with two boats. A large sail boat (hurricane damaged) and a Trader motor yacht. My concern was that with the sailboat adrift the wind could change and bring the boat back through the harbour and perhaps do more damage.

There is no marina here now and most of the hotel and condos have been demolished. I am guessing that the three hurricane damaged boats were put on the buoys when they cleared out the marina of sunk boats, smashed docks and other trashed facilities.

I have been through similar incidents in the Med when helping other boats with problems and never really knew what the reaction would be from the owners.


While rescuing the aground boat I did not have time to talk to the three Bahamians trying to re-float the boat. There was too much going on. A lot of onshore wind and a lot of shouting. I now believe that they are in charge of the boats on the buoys. They were out today checking on the moorings again. I will try and find out more when I go ashore.

A good friend of mine stopped to help two sailors who could not get their engine to run. Years later he was hauled into a depositions hearing because the boat had recently caught fire and there was an insurance claim.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by Shrew

This story is sort of odd. Was your boat also in the same marina?? If so, you would think it could be straightened out with the office. You are either in a seasonal or transient slip and a neighbor boat appeared to be taking on water.

Otherwise, I have to admit it would seem like an odd situation. You're on an unoccupied vessel, no ties to the marina and only your word that you know the owner of the vessel.

I'm curious which it is, because the former would leave me frustrated. The latter.....well you have to acknowledge that the marina neighbor is also being a 'good samaritan' in that case as well. After all, IF you don't have a boat in the marina, and are not a guest of a boat owner present, it begs the question why you were there at all. Most marinas consider you simply being on the dock in that situation as trespassing.

Different marina than my boat is in. One attached to a resort down here. We never figured out who called, a security guard we didn't know showed up and told us the Sheriff was on the way.

This was a boat one over from my friend's boat, that we were on when noticed the non-stop bilge pump going. He even had the guy's number, but it took him ten minutes to find it, but we went on board first to see if there really was a problem. (or if we were mistaking the ac discharge for the bilge).

To make the story even longer, my friend hadn't seen him there in a while, and we were digging for his number, with the deputy standing by there, he added, "He was trying to sell it. I hope he still owns it."

All, I can say is, we had been working on his boat, and didn't have our "yachty" look going that day. Maybe that was the problem.

[AKA-None]

There was a thread not long back where one person said never touch my boat for any reason or I’ll haul you to court. So some people really don’t care what their boat does.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by Group9

Different marina than my boat is in. One attached to a resort down here. We never figured out who called, a security guard we didn't know showed up and told us the Sheriff was on the way.

This was a boat one over from my friend's boat, that we were on when noticed the non-stop bilge pump going. He even had the guy's number, but it took him ten minutes to find it, but we went on board first to see if there really was a problem. (or if we were mistaking the ac discharge for the bilge).

To make the story even longer, my friend hadn't seen him there in a while, and we were digging for his number, with the deputy standing by there, he added, "He was trying to sell it. I hope he still owns it."

All, I can say is, we had been working on his boat, and didn't have our "yachty" look going that day. Maybe that was the problem.

You did a very nice thing to help save that boat. I hope people like you are around my boat which I probably cannot visit until there is a vaccine.

Maybe I missed it, but did you contact, or try to contact the marina where that boat was docked, before boarding the boat that was in trouble? That would have been my very first action, just a quick phone call, and offer to go on board to try to help. They could always say no, then you still would have done everything you could have done and not get in trouble with authorities.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by AKA-None

There was a thread not long back where one person said never touch my boat for any reason or I’ll haul you to court. So some people really don’t care what their boat does.

I hear things like this now and then, but I wonder on what grounds one would be charged? Trespass (I think) only applies to real property, and then only when posted. Perhaps one of our resident legal types could clear this up for me?

There is a lot of bluster exhibited in the world, but it is not so often backed up with action!

And good sam acts are in effect in many places... I'd think that rescuing a drifting or sinking vessel would qualify as a good sam effort.

Jim

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by Group9

Different marina than my boat is in. One attached to a resort down here. We never figured out who called, a security guard we didn't know showed up and told us the Sheriff was on the way.

This was a boat one over from my friend's boat, that we were on when noticed the non-stop bilge pump going. He even had the guy's number, but it took him ten minutes to find it, but we went on board first to see if there really was a problem. (or if we were mistaking the ac discharge for the bilge).

To make the story even longer, my friend hadn't seen him there in a while, and we were digging for his number, with the deputy standing by there, he added, "He was trying to sell it. I hope he still owns it."

All, I can say is, we had been working on his boat, and didn't have our "yachty" look going that day. Maybe that was the problem.

Well, my take, for what it's worth, Group9, is you did a good thing. There was another Good Samaritan nearby who, when he/she didn't recognise you or your friend, figured something dodgy might possibly be up and phoned the authorities. Authorities show up, you explained, they listened, called the boat's owner and (a) you were able to confirm that there was nothing nefarious going on; and (b) you saved the guy's boat from a potential sinking.

I say everyone acted reasonably in the circumstances and..well... you did GOOD! It may've involved a few complications, but everyone involved had good intentions - which were ultimately confirmed (and ultimately would have been confirmed even if you hadn't been able to get the guy on the phone immediately).

I truly hope it won't inhibit your future good deeds and I hope, once you've had time to reflect on it a bit that you'll return to you original just-hope-I-can-help-the-ballclub impulses.

"The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing."

(Not that a boat's sinking might be characterized as "evil" by anyone other than us sailors, but - you get my point.)

Warmly,
LittleWing77

[Group9]

Originally Posted by waterman46

You did a very nice thing to help save that boat. I hope people like you are around my boat which I probably cannot visit until there is a vaccine.

Maybe I missed it, but did you contact, or try to contact the marina where that boat was docked, before boarding the boat that was in trouble? That would have been my very first action, just a quick phone call, and offer to go on board to try to help. They could always say no, then you still would have done everything you could have done and not get in trouble with authorities.

The smart thing in retrospect, would have been to just dug out the guy's number in the first place. But, the hell of it was, my friend, his next door neighbor, had been asked to keep an eye on it for him, but he hadn't seen him in several months.

We did not foresee things going as they did, for sure. I'm not going to go there again.

[JPA Cate]

Guys, I really think we should give Group 9 space to feel as he does.

I have had a good deed turn into a visit to the police station.

In my case, I would still take the risk, because I was totally convinced what I had done was the right thing. But, as a result of doing this good deed (offering shelter for the night to a friend of my daughter), I was vilified in my own home (by the girl's drunk mother), and had eventually to call the police to get her to leave. She wanted to charge me with kidnapping. Ultimately no charges were filed.

However, I don't think we should be down on Group 9, because his good impulse wound up leaving a lasting bad taste. Any time we do anything, there is some risk of it going pear shaped. We have a choice whether or not to accept the risks. He gets to choose. Good things can happen also when we don't help. People learn more about taking responsibility for their actions, for instance--or at least they have the opportunity....

Ann

[BlueH2Obound]

No good deed ever goes unpunished . . . Based on past experience, I will think twice, or 5 or 8 times before boarding a boat whose owner I don't know to correct a problem. . . . I'll attempt to notify authorities, and let them take it from there.