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In article . com,
wrote:
Ran aground, couldnt power off, tide rising so I'm ok, just settin
reading the paper waitin. 20' power boat comes by, offers help, I
explain bout the tide, he insists his boat can pull me off. I
foolishly agree just to shut him up. Tie a 1/2" nylon line to my bow
cleats, before I can say anything, he gets a running start and cannot
hear me yelling for him to stop. He takes off, line goes taut, he
seems to stop dead as part of his transom tears off and then flies in
a beautiful arc over my bow to splash in the water behind me, bummer.
Instead of sinking, he manages to beach his boat about 50' away and
walks back to his truck. Should I offer him any compensation at all?
I did offer to give him some fiberglass cloth and resin.
Even though we later find out that you sorta knew him, he received the
compensation he deserved. And it was relatively benign. Wood can be
fixed fairly easily.
True, you should have discussed what you wanted beforehand, but I'm not
sure he would have listened.
I think I'd buy him a beer if you meet again, though. His heart was in
the right place.
Powerboaters really don't understand how much pulling power a sailboat
has in that situation, figuring that their 100 hp will work better than
your 15 from a standing start.
As I went for another beer, I got to thinking: Probably the best thing
he could have done was to "wake" you from the "shallow" side at just
below planing speed as you power and/or kedge off. (It's moe efffective
to heel the boat with a halyard, but I wouldn't trust him to do it.)
--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/
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