To Help or Not

[Bycrick]

It has nothing whatsoever do do with being in the US or not. I’ve seen more trouble with boat owners since I left the states than I ever did while in CA. The advice from lawyers everywhere is "go for the deepest pockets." So, the locals know how to sue you and have lots better connections.

And since cruisers, by definition, have no ties to the locale, it’s real easy for them to sneak away with taking responsibility. That’s why Mexico wants you to have liability coverage FROM A MEXICAN company.

Feel free to volunteer, but be prepared to find the one rotten apple who can ruin your life.

[simonmorice]

What an odd law. I must avoid Florida then. Shame, I have good pals in the States.

[paul2884]

We have re-anchored another boat with know one on board once, called the harbour master then went over in the tender and lifted/re-set the anchor, things must be very diffrent in the uk to the US. If someone needs assistance you just do what you can, re-anchor boat, offer a tow, administer first aid whatever is needed.

[Cynara]

When we seriously started sailing everyone would help out other boats.

The world seems to be changing.

[misfits]

I can't even begin to comprehend not helping another person out in a time of need.
Talk about bad Karma.

[simonmorice]

Originally Posted by paul2884

We have re-anchored another boat with know one on board once, called the harbour master then went over in the tender and lifted/re-set the anchor, things must be very diffrent in the uk to the US. If someone needs assistance you just do what you can, re-anchor boat, offer a tow, administer first aid whatever is needed.

I suspect this may be due to the example we are set by the RNLI. All volunteers, they will go to sea to help whenever needed. They always launch whatever the weather. Amazingly, they are a charity and almost all are unpaid. Yet they are generally the first to be tasked by the coastguard.

[HappyGuy]

Around 1998 I was crewing on a friend's yacht and we had anchored in Port Vila Harbour Vanuatu.
We had been at anchor since the previous morning. Both my skipper and his partner and I had gone ashore early that afternoon. They had gone off to do something and I had gone for a walk.
I was probably a couple of hundred meters away from the harbour on my way back when I saw my skipper and his partner running flat out towards where the dinghy was tied up, down the ladder and started rowing as fast as they could.
I noticed then that the boat was not where it had been.

Turns out the boat had started dragging and someone from a neighboring yacht had gone aboard and paid out more chain which halted the drag. My skipper was very grateful they had done that.

I think it would be a pretty arrogant, sick owner that would sue if there was damage to the boat as a result of an attempt to save it from colliding with other boats or grounding.

Why the boat dragged I have no idea. We always after laying out the anchor chain gave a good pull backwards with the engine to check the holding.
I'd certainly hope someone would attempt to save my boat in that situation.

[ThoFre97]

Originally Posted by SunnySky

…
… used their foot as a fender and then sued the owner of the boat they had been on about a decade ago (District of Hawai’i Case No. 1:12-cv-00057)
…

I’d like to review that case, 1:12-cv-00057, but it does not seem to exist. Typo?

Thanks for sharing and best of luck in your litigation.

[CFS Klopas]

I'm reminded of a post on my Marina's page. A boat owner posted a video (he has a motion activated security camera) of a teenager stepping off the pier onto his swim platform for about 3 seconds then leaving. He was upset enough about this to get angry and make a post.

The comments were mostly supportive and also thought the teenager's behavior was outrageous. I commented to the effect of that it is possible to take private property rights too seriously, the mob then turned it's wrath on me. There was certainly no distress involved here, but many boat owners take their property rights very seriously.

[lestersails]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

I think we can finalise the subject ,

help everyone as you can except in the US where you’ll get sued or shot.

Or perhaps both?

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

That’s settled then.

Works for me!

Great post BTW - gave me a chuckle!

[lestersails]

Originally Posted by CFS Klopas

I'm reminded of a post on my Marina's page. A boat owner posted a video (he has a motion activated security camera) of a teenager stepping off the pier onto his swim platform for about 3 seconds then leaving. He was upset enough about this to get angry and make a post.

The comments were mostly supportive and also thought the teenager's behavior was outrageous. I commented to the effect of that it is possible to take private property rights too seriously, the mob then turned it's wrath on me. There was certainly no distress involved here, but many boat owners take their property rights very seriously.

'very seriously' would imply to me thoughtful reflection and perspective. Serious thought is MIA. The most routine encounter is distorted into a grievous offense followed by them screaming about their 'rights'.

I am sorry that you incurred their wrath. I hope it doesn't hurt your business or otherwise escalate. It's an ugly thing and I am afraid it is going to get worse. At least in the US, people seem to have been given permission to be selfish a$$e$ and a good number have taken this on with enthusiasm.

[OneBoatman]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a boat that was dragging in an anchorage that did so "repeatedly"; I suppose you mean trying grab a hold and almost staying put but then continuing to drag. To me that is characteristic of any vessel dragging otherwise we say she is adrift. I have seen where they come to hold when the scope gets adequate in certain bottoms before reaching the beach or worse. Once I was returning to my boat in my dinghy and noticed that a nearby unattended sailboat that was on a mooring was aground on a neap tide. Yep, not something you would expect, but she couldn't swing freely with other boats and putting it together, I promptly moved my hook further away. Just getting to a boat that is dragging before there is a problem in most anchorages means you best be already underway in your own boat or tender. Weigh my own anchor to assist is not for me. I will do just about anything to help someone in trouble on the water but absent seeing anyone aboard the other vessel I wouldn't do anything more than pay out scope if there was time and space, but I would prefer to have a video to showing me doing it precisely because liability can so easily be misplaced.

[Sailorman97]

Originally Posted by lestersails

'very seriously' would imply to me thoughtful reflection and perspective. Serious thought is MIA. The most routine encounter is distorted into a grievous offense followed by them screaming about their 'rights'.

I am sorry that you incurred their wrath. I hope it doesn't hurt your business or otherwise escalate. It's an ugly thing and I am afraid it is going to get worse. At least in the US, people seem to have been given permission to be selfish a$$e$ and a good number have taken this on with enthusiasm.

Not just there. Look at the last 3 weeks in Ottawa

[Cynara]

Originally Posted by OneBoatman

I'm not sure I've ever seen a boat that was dragging in an anchorage that did so "repeatedly"; I suppose you mean trying grab a hold and almost staying put but then continuing to drag. To me that is characteristic of any vessel dragging otherwise we say she is adrift. I have seen where they come to hold when the scope gets adequate in certain bottoms before reaching the beach or worse. Once I was returning to my boat in my dinghy and noticed that a nearby unattended sailboat that was on a mooring was aground on a neap tide. Yep, not something you would expect, but she couldn't swing freely with other boats and putting it together, I promptly moved my hook further away. Just getting to a boat that is dragging before there is a problem in most anchorages means you best be already underway in your own boat or tender. Weigh my own anchor to assist is not for me. I will do just about anything to help someone in trouble on the water but absent seeing anyone aboard the other vessel I wouldn't do anything more than pay out scope if there was time and space, but I would prefer to have a video to showing me doing it precisely because liability can so easily be misplaced.

I don't think anyone is saying to lift your anchor to save another. We would take a spare anchor and rode to a dragging boat

[Cynara]

Recently I have seen posts on Facebook where the person posted that he wasn't sure that the boat was in good condition, but said it was okay because he could just call a towing company.

When I started sailing we didn't have such a thing. If you needed help you could call the harbor patrol if close enough or for serious problems, not for being out of fuel or wind, you could call the coast guard. It was very embossing having to be rescued and avoided that at all costs