brownsd54, do you know the make and model of the boat and an estimate of it's value?? I know legally there must be a ton of red tape involved with filing a marine salvage claim but if she has a good financial upside might it not be an opportunity for someone or a group to take it on??
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_salvageOriginally Posted by johng
No. It is very complicated. Recovering a salvage does not automatically give one 100% ownership in the vessel. Hardly. It's far from being a salvage-keepers, losers-weepers situation. If she's insured (not likely in this case) the insurance company will will pay something to the salvage company to avoid a total loss payout. In most cases a court will only allow the salvage company to be made whole, basically reimburse them for the effort and any lost revenue if they went out of their way to save the crew or property from danger. Boats wash up on public beaches in the states every so often. After a hurricane they are everywhere. In most abandonment cases the taxpayers pay to have them sliced into scrap. I don't believe that there is much of a financial upside to this wreck. Spend $25,000 to $30,000 to get her free, maybe, with a tug or crane? The woodwork on the deck is in bad shape. I'd be weary of the rigging attachments to the haul, and who knows what else is wrong at this point.
Boats wash up on public beaches in the states every so often. In most cases the taxpayers pay to have them sliced into scrap. When you're a boat land is your enemy. Whoever dropped that anchor effed up real bad.
Easier to buy a 40' fixer upper for $50K and you'd be ahead. This wreck is still there because the numbers don't work.
K A M, thanks for your thoughts and knowledge everything you posted makes a lot of sense to me. I've never owned a boat and have very limited experience on the ocean but your logic seems on the money!! Were you in Negril while this has been going on?? Have you actually seen the boat? I understand the complexity involved in the salvage laws. Does a boat owner have a "Title" for a boat or what is the document used and is there an International Clearing House where ownership is recorded??
Why would I know the make, model, and value of this boat and if I did what does that have to do with this thread. This boat has drawn lots of attention from visitors and locals alike and I think everyone whats to see this end as a happy story. All I said was this boat doesn't seem abandoned, nor does it look like a marine salvage. All the rigging is there and it looks like someone might be living on the boat. The Molly Mermaid broke anchor many many years ago and blew up on the shore by The Point Village. There it sat for a few years while discussion were tabled about who was responsible to remove her. The difference here is that the Molly Mermaid blew up on reef and rock shore line and was a salvage project from the get go.
The wood work looked in good shape when it came ashore (I'm a cabinetmaker). Not so much when I left 16 days later. A lot of the contents of the boat was cleaned out by owner early on.
I disagree with what Kold is saying here. All of the sails, standing rigging, radar, anchor, and other crucial gear looks intact. The only things that could have been stolen (without breaking inside, which doesn't appear to be the case) that aren't accounted for are electronics, and then only the displays. The boat looks to be in solid shape, and would certainly be worth $25k to have it hauled out to sea by a tug. But it's probably not that simple given the shallow depth, and the keel being buried. I doubt the keel itself is 7', that would make the draft something like 12', which would be crazy. The actual keel is probably 3-4' deep in the sand. Problem is you can't just hook up to the mast and pull it free, same for the deck cleats, they would just rip out. Had someone been able to weight the mast and put her on a lean prior to burying the keel, this could have been avoided. Can't do that now, as the stress would destroy the mast step.
Not sure what the solution is, but as I see it dredging is the only viable option without further damage to the vessel.
We got back from Country Country last weekend. We were told that Gail's attorneys were in contact with Jamaican authorities and advised that the government would remove the boat either via crane or tub and sell for salvage as the owner was back in England apparently having given up. This was supposed to happen by the Feb. 22. Needless to say that must also be "on island time". I was hoping to film the removal but it's still there.
There is a tug boat and an old beat up barge parked in a little cove just before Sandy Bay. Maybe waiting there until they get the clearance from the Jamaican Government or maybe waiting for a big crane. The sail boat is fully upright now which means the keel is a full 6-8' below the surface. That puppy isn't moving now. Only a big big crane on that barge is going to move it.
We were in Negril a few days after the boat came ashore. Saw some of the failed attempts to get her free. Boat registration and titling regulations vary from state to state in the US for inland vessels. Offshore boats can be registered in countries other than where you call home for tax purposes. As far as I know any legal issues with an offshore vessel are handled by the federal court system in the flagging or country where the violation occurred.
A day or two into our trip:
…..a three hour tour...…..
[https://www.TickerFactory.com/]
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