The Salty Barrister

Ok, so some of you are likely dusting off your luggage and getting ready for a cruise somewhere warm. I'm not, but I won't hold it against anybody. At any rate, things can happen aboard a vessel and, who knows, maybe you'll meet your soul mate. Maybe you'll even decide that, level-headedness be damned, you're getting married! So the captain says, "Right. Sure thing." And now, looking at yourself in the mirror some moons past, you wonder: "Was that deal even legal?"

First things first, these are my very general comments on this question. I am not giving legal advice so for Pete's sake, don't rely on anything I'm saying. Treat my comments like a dinner-mat chart at a seafood eatery: fun to look at, but nothing you're going to sail by.

Now, let's talk about one aspect of the issue. Title 46, Section 11301 of the U.S. Code is entitled "Logbook and entry requirements." Among other things, a little ways down the page you learn that a master shall include in the official logbook each marriage on board. So there's this 1929 decision from the New York Court of Appeals in a case called Fisher v. Fisher. The Fishers were sailing aboard the steamship Leviathan from New York to London in October, 1925. Somewhere around forty miles out of New York, the Captain conducts a marriage ceremony, and four years later the court is called on to answer the question whether the Fishers were "lawfully united in marriage." Do you know where I'm going with this?

The Court found the Fishers were married and one of the things it looked to in reaching this decision was that U.S. Code section requiring marriages be logged in the official logbook.

So again, this is just one aspect of the Court's reasoning and it's only one state court of appeals. Who knows how things would turn out in any particular case, especially in these modern times. But there's some food for thought, eh?

Underway and making way (having been happily married ashore.)

-- JKF

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So the wind blows grey and wet today. That's not all bad because you need these sessions as a foil to all the shiny bright of summer. You know what I mean. Too much harry and excess, and you forget how good a cold beer tastes, you overlook the wonder of eight cylinders running in counter-balanced harmony, you miss out on your hull carving through that ugly curler . . . you start getting dulled. And life is all too short a tack for that kind of nonsense.

A job will dull you like nothing else. No doubt there. So can a hundred of other things from family crises to business successes and from failures to money troubles. And so, my friends, by way of salty elixir I recommend a dose of boat maintenance. It's quick-acting and there's nothing like it to focus the mind. No, I'm not jesting. I'm a big supporter of the marine trades, but this year pick one boat project and give it a whirl. Pick something tangible that come August, you can lift a hatch, look at and think: "Huh. I did that myself and it looks pretty good." Paint the bilge, rewire an electrical panel, or varnish some brightwork. It's not the project, it's the process of doing the project yourself. Of scraping your knuckles, of sitting in a meeting with a rime of bottom paint around your cuticles, of reminding yourself that boating is not all about turning the key and going.

Sure, this blog entry runs the risk of grounding upon the shoals of self-help. Those are a nasty bit of rock and I'm trying to give them plenty of clearance. But if your ear hears a breaking surf, just read some other post and remember this entry as nothing more than an author's gridiron struggle at keeping life shiny bright.

Underway and making way.

--- JKF

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I grew up around folks that tended toward self-sufficiency. A spare something was generally on hand. You didn't come into the dock too hot because rudders and clutches could be ornery. You checked the depth gauge against your plotted position to make sure things looked about the same. You didn't run your fuel tanks down, rely on a radar, or run off your entire battery bank. You get the drill, and that approach has faired me well. So what with the wisdom of my increasing years, I'm damn unhappy about the Loran-C system being unplugged. (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-navigation-system-shelved,0,939770.story)

We're all GPS happy, intoxicated by its ease, accuracy and relatively cheap price tag. I get it. The problem with GPS is that it relies on satellites and, look, I'm no engineer but if a satellite works anything like my cell phone, you can probably shut them off with as little as a key stroke. That's the problem. Everyone from the commercial fisherman to the weekend warrior is bombing around the coast on the wings of a GPS signal. Cut that signal and my money says you're going to have big problems. Ferries, harbor patrol units, and, I'd venture, even the Coast Guard might be up a creek. And without Loran-C what's the alternative? Dead reckoning? Maybe like sailors of old, you can pull up your sounding weight to see what kind of sea floor the wax base trapped. (I can assure you that that aged talent of being able to divine one's location from a sample of the sea floor has slipped into history's ether.)

Reports suggest that turning off Loran-C will cost some 256 jobs. The price of keeping Loran-C going is reported to be $36 million in 2010 and $190 million for the next five years. (Serious money to be sure, but let’s not venture down the path of comparing it to the alleged bonuses the financial sector is taking home. And, in case you'd forgotten but by way of perspective, the TARP bailout is in the range of $700 billion!)

Yea, I am angry. These are the easy decisions and we're not getting them right. Tell you what, China is. They have two Loran-C type systems. Makes you wonder what we're thinking, huh? If you have a moment, give your local representative a call or go to http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/LORAN/default.htm and send them a burst of the kind of common sense that landed a thousand ships safely back in the harbor.

Underway and making way (without my Loran-C).

--- JKF

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The two weeks that encompass the Christmas and New Year holidays always seem to pass with frightening speed. One moment someone's leaning into your office with holiday wishes, and the next thing, your secretary is cheerily reminding you that your letter has the wrong date: "It's 2010 now, John." So it is.

You say what you want about progress, I like the nautical bubble because things seem to take a little longer to change. And that's a good thing. Take the past decade, for instance. Oh, I know the marketers will sling this and that as heralding "marked" change, but really? The things that count to me seem pretty much unchanged. There's still wooden hulls being pushed along under acres of sail, good looking small craft, harbors that'll hold an anchor, moorings and launch service, floating docks, Saturday races, bags of ice, grills on transom rails, tan lines, sailing lessons, your wake's white curl, a boater's friendly wave, rafting up for the concert, the rumble of twin engines, an open line of ocean, moonlit cruises, high tides, the smell of varnish . . . .

I didn't write a holiday post. I'll let my earlier Thanksgiving post stand for the Season.

Underway and making way.

--- JKF

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I don’t know where time goes these days. If life was an old hull hanging in the Travelift straps, time would be pouring out of the seams and smattering all over the ground. Point being, with time passing by so fast, you try and grab those little moments to store away another good memory.

One of those little moments might be a boat charter while on holiday. You know the deal. Fourth day into a vacation and you're just beginning to realize there's a life outside of the daily grind. Tiring of the beach, you grab a family member or two and rent a boat to poke around the shoreline. So here's where this blog spots an issue for you. Those boat rental contracts with the age-old presentation on yellow paper can have some pretty scary terms and conditions. I'd say a prudent boater probably scoots the children outside and takes a moment to read that fine print. I'd say a prudent boater probably takes a few photographs of the boat before getting underway and maybe even checks the inventory aboard to make sure the boat's carrying what it's supposed to carry. All and all, taking the time to understand what's expected of you before you get underway makes good sense.

I keep parroting this, but there's no legal advice being given here. You do what you want, but at least be aware of the issue being spotted. Because, you know, for all time's fleet footedness, it sure can drag when you're dealing with something crappy like a claim for damage to a rental boat you're damn sure you didn't cause.

Underway and making way.

--- JKF

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Thanks for the recent comment inquiring as to why you'd arrest a vessel. (See "Book that Vessel!", August 20, 2006) Obviously, the answer is because the vessel was behaving badly, maybe lurching around in public smelling of booze, maybe fleeing a crime scene, dealing dope, who knows?

Forgive me. However, the term "arrest" has that flavor, right? You're left with an image of the Marshal swaggering down the dock, cuffs in hand and some center-console tugging madly at its lines. But that's not how it works when a vessel is arrested. Sure, it's detained and can't be moved, but the reason for doing so is usually because of monetary issues. In the maritime law, liens attach to a vessel and, typically, if you want to foreclose on a maritime lien, you arrest the vessel. That is, if you're the holder of a maritime you can generally seek the vessel's arrest in satisfaction of the lien. Say a marina hauled, stored and repaired a vessel. It probably has a lien for necessaries supplied to the vessel, and if the marina isn't paid, it may be able to arrest and seize the vessel. The court would likely require security be posted to release the vessel, and the claim would be adjudicated and the marina, if it prevails, would be paid from the posted security. If no one appears on behalf of the vessel or if no security is posted, the court may allow the marina to sell the vessel and the proceeds would be deposited with the court.

I know, I know. There's other reasons for arresting a vessel. You can arrest a vessel if there is a dispute over ownership or possession. In that case, the Court would usually hold the vessel until it resolved the parties' dispute. And then, of course, a vessel can be arrested and seized on the criminal side, but that's a whole other ball of Oakum.

Underway and making way.

--- JKF

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You know how a wave catches the stern and starts to get you sideways when you were thinking about something else? Or with fog, how there's an occasional moment where the sheer blindness of the stuff catches you off guard. Common to these moments, I think, is the fear of losing control. Being able to orient yourself is the elixir. A sharp turn on the helm, or a quick glance at the radar is usually enough when you're shipboard. What do you do, however, when you're in the midst of a litigation, and you sense the burble of a familiar feeling?

Litigation is a voyage with all the storms and safe harbors you might expect from a sail of any good length. As a party to a litigation, keeping informed as to the status of things is probably the key to not losing control. It's important to understand that like a doctor or accountant, an attorney has many clients and double as many files requiring attention. You (hopefully) only have a single litigation to contend with, so it's important to convey to your attorney that you expect to be involved. Consider asking to be copied on all communications, no matter how mundane. Take the time to speak with your attorney on some kind of regular basis to understand what developments have taken place. Ask your attorneys what they suggest you can do to assist in the litigation. If you're not happy with the level of communication coming from your attorney, try making a request for a telephone conference or an in-person meeting in writing.

You'll run up attorneys' fees, you say? Sure. Maybe being involved will cost you more. On the other hand, I've always maintained that the best litigation successes tend to result from clients that are interested and participate. That is, your success at the end of the day may eclipse any additional fees you incur.

Underway and making way.

--- JKF

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