Boat dealer sued over damage to sea grass

By Todd Ruger
Sarasota Herald Tribune

Published: Monday, February 23, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 11:05 p.m.

MANATEE COUNTY - A 72-foot yacht from Marlow Marine Sales in Palmetto
departed for a Miami boat show in 2006, but strayed from a deep channel
in Everglades National Park and ran aground on Arsenic Bank.
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After several days of trying to float the "Rebel Yell" off the sandbar,
crew members powered the yacht over it, plowing a channel through the
shoal and tearing up sea grass in the sensitive preservation area,
government officials say.

The National Park Service filed a federal lawsuit against Marlow Marine
this month, saying the cost of the damage totals $240,000 -- and
counting -- as the service works to repair the area and monitor its
progress.

The lawsuit is the second filed in Florida's federal courts in the past
year seeking hefty damages against boat owners accused of tearing up sea
grass. In the other case, the government is seeking $600,000 in damages
from a boat owner who ran aground near Key West in 2003.

Sea grass acts as nurseries and feeding grounds for fish, shrimp, stone
crab, lobster and a variety of other aquatic life, including endangered
species like sea turtles and manatees. Both of the federal lawsuits were
filed over damage done to national preserves.

The owner of the "Rebel Yell," boat dealer David Marlow, is contesting
the $240,000 in damages. In court paperwork, he argues that the yacht's
crew was acting with care when it ran aground, and navigational aids in
the waterway were deficient and negligently maintained.

Shallow waters and sandbars are the main features of Florida Bay, the
shallow lagoon at the southern tip of the Florida Peninsula. The number
of boaters using the bay has more than doubled over the past 20 years,
and at some points, the average low tide can be just 1 foot deep.

The government's lawsuit states that repairing the damage from the Rebel
Yell meant replanting two types of sea grass in a 2,270 square foot
area, and required about a tractor-trailer full of sediment to refill
and stabilize the hole the propeller left in the sandbar.

Several attempts were made to refloat the yacht before the crew used its
engine to power off of the shoal, according to the Department of Justice
lawsuit.

The Justice Department declined to comment about how damages were
calculated or how many of these claims it pursues each year.

Similar propeller scarring of sea grass beds is widespread and
increasing in Florida Bay, according to a study from the National Park
Service released last month.

The densest scarring occurred in shallow areas, near navigational
channels, and around areas most heavily used by boaters, the study found.