TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Insurance and Salvage

@tmsxmsail - Salvage is a complex, but regulated matter. The standard Lloyds open form is often construed as being outrageously disadvantageous to the distressed party, but it clearly specifies the liabilities and potential costs for both sides. There's a "no cure, no pay" type of deal (like the Lloyds), and the "risk" to the salvor and the salvor's damage mitigation play a big role. So without knowing the contract details (a verbal agreement to "can we help?" is often sufficient) it is hard to judge if the owner is being unfairly charged. I do recall when this happened that I thought to myself that the owner was a fool to publicize his sailing with defective steering and that he wasn't going to get any money from his insurance.

I have posted this before. On the day of the incident I sailed by Mountain Trunk Bay. There was not just a north swell running that day, there was an enormous swell running. My wife and I noticed only a couple of moored and anchored boats as we passed from Savannah and then all the way past Long Bay. We both said out loud how foolish it was for boats to be in there with the swell. I think we noticed only one boat in that area so it may have been the Hillbilly, but I’m not sure. It was beyond careless, it was reckless to take a mooring in those conditions in my opinion. I can’t understand how any experienced boater would first, even take a mooring, and second, leave the boat unattended if a mooring was taken. Remember, the Hillbilly couldn’t launch the dinghy due to the swell and he and his friends had to swim to shore.

When combined with his earlier decision to go out without steering no one should be surprised he was denied. Having two operable engines that provide maneuverability are different from having proper steering. The steering situation took place earlier, but is legally relevant because it demonstrated his lack of awareness. The Hillbilly never seemed able to grasp the concept that he is responsible for NOT hazarding his vessel. He mentioned the moorings were safe because one of the salvage boats used a similar mooing that day without incident. That’s like a motorist who just ran a red light and hit another car in an intersection saying “I saw another car run the light and it didn’t get hit, so that’s proof it’s safe to run that red light”.

Again, I posted this months ago. A maritime lawyer (old law school friend) who has practiced in the field since 1985 and had reviewed the Hillbilly’s videos told me he would be denied. He thought it was going to be an easy decision for the insurance company. He didn’t think any reputable maritime attorney would pursue the Hillbilly’s claim. The Hillbilly may have had sketchy insurance, but he was likely going to be denied regardless under the circumstances.

I was there that day also. I looked at taking one of the moorings on the Kodiak Queen well offshore and designed for large boats. I passed when I saw the swell. The Mooring he took was a private mooring designed for center console outboards put in by the owners of homes on shore there. Never take a private mooring without permission from the owner and verifying it’s appropriate for your size boat. I am not sure that 54 foot power cat does not exceed the tonnage limit for overnight public moorings let alone that mooring.

The mooring seems to have been the chief issue. Hillbilly repeated in this most recent video that the insurer's investigator examined the mooring and spoke with the mooring owner (but did not look at the boat). Even a good mooring could have failed in the conditions. He never truly acknowledged his mistake, which is odd.