Yacht salvage in the South Pacific

[rbgarr]

David Nutt, a sailor and boatbuilder is now the operations manager at Boothbay Harbor Shipyard. For the last five or six years he has been sailing around the world on a sixty plus foot steel ketch with his wife and three children. At one point they were approaching some South Sea island or atoll and saw a thirty some foot sailboat up on a reef, abandoned. They went aboard and could tell that the wreck was fairly recent: charts at the nav desk on the high side were dry, etc. but fuel had leaked and coated everything on the leweard side. He and his family (and maybe another sailboat crew..I forget) spent three days cleaning up the boat and getting her off the reef.

They were able to find the owner who had made his way to another island. They met him and gave him back his boat. David and his family considered the salvage an adventure.

The owner failed to offer to buy them dinner or drinks, much less compensate them with even a token amount.

[jack grebe]

perhaps the "wreck" was intentional

[Wild Dingo]

An adventure!!

Sure it would always be great to be compensated in some way...and I think I would have expected at least several many quite a bloody few beers at his shout for salvaging it and gettin her back to him in one peice

BUT!! An adventure!! think of it!!

[WindHawk]

I think I agree with Jack on this one.

Wouldn't that frost your shorts to see your "feloney disposal" boat, and presumably the payment book, come sailing back into harbor?

Great story either way.

[Norske3]

Yeah.....intentional....me guess is.

[Hwyl]

I plucked a guy of a wrecked boat on one of the Virgin Islands. He was a cowering heap in the cockpit. I had to literally drag him out. One hour later at the bar he was telling everyone that it could have happened to anyone an it was the <insert desultory term for black people here> fault for not putting proper navigation lights on the island.

[John B]

I have yet to meet an offshore cruiser who has insurance. Thats not to say they aren't out there.. just that the cost of the insurance is astronomical.
So I'd want to know about that before coming to the intentional wreck conclusion.
Bizarre behaviour on behalf of the owner though Dave. Shock at the loss of his life savings perhaps... You never know do you.Odd .

I had a call last night. All my friends are out out on their boats while we're still visiting in the south Island.
#1. 2 of the boys capsized one of the dinghies near the beach and the newbie lad stopped his fall with a chin inwhale interface requiring 4 stitches
#2. My friends parents visted them in an 11 metre modern launch and took a bunch up to a busy bay to buy something forgotten. As they came into the bay( packed with boats) the gearbox linkages failed on the launch and they rammed an anchored yacht, bounced off and hit 2 more before getting the thing to stop!! serious damage but no one hurt. Much abuse and screaming at the incompetent 'launchie'. Only Phil has vast numbers of offshore miles and 40 years sailing and boating under him. He's mortified.
#3. One of our closest mates had made 2 cups of coffee( after being ashore for a run ( Half triathalon coming up for her) when a kid ran down the companionway and knocked both fresh coffee's over her . Hot enough to weld her running shorts to her leg where it landed!

So it hasn't been smooth sailing for my mates back home. I hope they stay out and wait for us.

[Hwyl]

I've met cruisers with insurance. They're a different breed, the cruise is the plan, the boat is mortgaged (hence the insurance) and once the cruise is completed the boat is to be sold.

John you were alluding to something that I was trying to say. Losing a boat must be so devastating that it's partitioned off (or cubicled) in your brain. To see it's sudden re-emegance must take a little lag time to get used to the concept.

[WindHawk]

Yep. The boomers (who start turning 60 this year BTW ), are more willing to mortgage the boat & go cruising; hence the insurance.

It's a constant gripe on one of the boards I belong to with the restrictions of what, where, when, how & with the number of "who's" on board (3 minimum in many places; I think, to eliminate couples only crew).

Folks are spending 2K and up a year for insurance. I keep telling them that the price of large wooden vessels is so low that self-insurance is entirely possible; just get a liability policy. Certainly, the upkeep on wood is cheaper & more effective than therapy.

Many of them are partial to cruising on 600-1,000K plastic catamarans, which I suppose explains the mortgage.