SafeSea Logo
Join RenewContact

RSS Subscribe to RSS Feed

Latest Posts

  1. Summer Signs John Fulweiler 16-Aug-2010
  2. Of Shares and Scallops John Fulweiler 23-Jul-2010
  3. Of Muscle Cars and Maritime Lawyers John Fulweiler 13-Jul-2010
  4. Sweet Mother Mary... John Fulweiler 28-Jun-2010
  5. Are You Guilty of This? John Fulweiler 18-Jun-2010

Tags


Disclaimer

This blog is for fun.  There is NO legal opinion offered and NO attorney/client relationship is formed under any circumstances.  The comments relayed herein may or may not be accurate.  There's no warranty as to accuracy, no warranty as to whether you'll find any of it interesting, no warranty as to anything.  If you have a legal issue, contact an attorney and DO NOT RELY on anything stated herein.  Again, I'm blogging here, NOT lawyering.    

Also, DO NOT respond to posts with questions regarding your specific legal issues.  The posts are publicly displayed, I will NOT respond, and you may prejudice your legal standing.  This is NOT the right forum to seek legal advice.

The Salty Barrister

Experienced admiralty attorney John Fulweiler shares some insights into the "Law of the Sea". Capt. Fulweiler grew up as a RI Boater, and spent several of his collegiate summers as a Safe/Sea Captain.

Summer Signs

John Fulweiler - Monday, August 16, 2010

Now we’re into things, huh? You’ve had some Summer happenings, a couple of picnics, a burn and a peel, and that long pull from an iced-down bottle of beer. Good memories, indeed.

The thing is, and I know you’ve shied away from conceding this, but the lawn is burnt and the Bay is starting to have that Fall'ish look around its edges... all of which means that winter storage is around the corner. And that means winter storage contracts. Even though you might have a child tugging at your pant leg, find time to read through the darn thing. No doubt you’ve got a great relationship with your marina, but when the ship hits the fan, things can rise and fall on contract language, so it’s important to understand what you’re reading. Whether it’s a word or a paragraph, if what you’re signing isn’t clear, speak to your admiralty attorney. And another good resource to keep in mind is your insurance broker. It’s a good idea to make sure that what you’re agreeing to is consistent with your insurance coverage.

That’s all I’ve got today. Work is crowding in like a subway car at rush hour and I’ve got to find a way to get some more time on the water. Underway and making way, or, as I used to say, “Standing by, Channel 16.”

--- JKF

To Hades and Back

John Fulweiler - Friday, June 04, 2010

I remember nudging throttles forward with my knuckle-back, tapping each into some kind of synchronicity, and now I'm about to up the revolutions on this blog. Let me play provocateur . . . didn't this Country sell out the Gulf's beauty years ago? I mean we've got thousands of rigs shouldering up to environments described as "pristine" and "irreplaceable". Me? I call that something's gonna happen, we're just not sure when.

I'm leveling collective criticism. I'm not singling out the oil and gas industry's hardhats, it's as honest a work as anything else anyone does. Look, you don't need to be wearing thick wool socks and sandals to appreciate that the American majority hasn't done squat to conserve. And this so-called alternative energy the media and marketers tout reminds me of some high-end science fair projects. A car that'll get you to the next county on batteries? A windmill here and there? Bio-fuel? Come on, let's be honest, we haven't given a hoot about anything but cheap goods and cheaper fuel, and, in my opinion, we ante-upped the Gulf Coast for cheap fuel everything else be damned.

So now we've gone and punctured Hades. ("The devil went down to Georgia the Gulf Coast, he was looking for a soul to steal."). A nether world pierced and spewing the fermented richness of a million eons ago. If you make a pact with Devil, well maybe you shouldn't be wincing and whining come pay day. To my mind, we curse our trade-off, we try hard to collect money damages, and we get on with realizing that we should bloody well start paying attention to our future decisions. They seem to have consequences, huh?

I'm not underway and I'm not making way. I'm just angry.

--- JKF

Navigating Around Change

John Fulweiler - Wednesday, May 26, 2010

I don’t like change. Let’s get that right out in front. So maybe it’s for that reason I spend a lot of time looking around in search of the kind of marine vendors I remember from years ago. You know what I mean, the couple that designs and installs boat canvas themselves, or that fellow who can weld like nobody’s business, or the marine electronics repair store that rummages up an adapter where no one else could.

You see, in my book, boating is not about the exercise of making way across the water. It’s about the preparations and individual effort associated with getting out there. Any idiot can sit behind a schooner wheel; it takes a true waterman to assemble all the pieces necessary to getting underway.

I remember in Rhode Island past there was a boat supply shop floored in creaking broad pine, organized with old shelving crooked with inventory, and staffed by eclectically knowledgeable folks. There were no uniforms and the staff wasn’t necessarily friendly. They knew their business though, and they took a kind of methamphetamine-charged interest in solving whatever riddle you might push across the counter. A mere twisted portion of rusted bolt lacking any semblance to the original casting was quickly associated with a particular brand, a size, style and – voila – a replacement was produced. You see, for those folks, what I remember is a pride in what they did and how they were perceived. I don’t see that much anymore. Nowadays I troll along vast aisles trying to find replacement bolts myself, I speak to employees who might as well be selling me a cup of coffee, and for sweet’s sake, some places make me check my purchases out myself!

So you go on and buy from the big box stores with the clean lines and overhead lighting. Me? I’ll stick to rummaging around, dusting off and cobbling together. I never did like change.

Underway and making way.

--- JKF

Despair

John Fulweiler - Tuesday, May 18, 2010

There are thirty islands in Narragansett Bay, and Despair Island is the smallest. After having claimed two lives this past weekend and, as these things tend to do, no doubt upending a dozen others, it's also the most aptly named. I don't know much about the facts of that incident aside from what's on the tube, but I know what it's like to run into a ledge at night. Too many years ago, I was coming back from Newport and foolishly looped around the north end of Rose Island on a low tide. Wide up on a plane, I walloped a ledge and sheered the very bottom of the outboard's lower unit off. Humbled and rattled, I idled my way home. I was fortunate that evening.

The Navigational Rules for International and Inland waters require, and I paraphrase, a speed appropriate for the circumstances. How many times have you seen a powerboat blasting its way down the Bay on a foggy day? Alright, I'll volunteer, a fair bit. And sailboats don't get off easy here either. I've seen sailboats zipping along with a crowd aboard, but no one looking under the jib or over the rail. That's just as dangerous and violates the Navigational Rules regarding the maintenance of a proper look-out.

We're all about to lug children, spouses, beer and sandwiches aboard and head out onto the Bay. It'll be good times because, thankfully, the ledger sheet for such things on the Bay is way in the black. All I ask is that when you get underway, you keep a little despair in mind.

--- JKF

Boat Buying Bedevilment

John Fulweiler - Friday, May 07, 2010

This is a great time of year. The sun tips forward and starts pouring on some serious rays, and the water starts sparkling and zipping in a way you only get in this hemisphere during the summer months. Alright, enough of my meanderings 'cause for the next few days, I'm trapped up here in an office pushing the maritime law around.

There's an interesting case against a yacht broker that anyone who's fixing to sell or buy a boat should read. Plus, for you Rhode Islanders, there's a bit of a connection because some of the parties are from the Ocean State. Long story short, fellow buys boat in Florida, boat allegedly fails to perform as advertised in allegedly serious ways and a lawsuit follows. Anyway, on April 28, the jury rules in favor of the plaintiff. If you Google "yacht lawsuit florida," you should be able to find some news articles about the matter.

I'll be curious as to what you all think about the result?

Underway and making way, 19 floors up.

--- JKF

Editor's Note: here's an URL to an article about this case in the Miami Herald for John's readers' convenience...

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/04/1611492/angry-buyer-wins-suit-against.html

7-Eleven Ain't 7487

John Fulweiler - Thursday, April 08, 2010

They’re some tired neurons staggering around my frontal lobe trying to salvage a distant memory of an anecdote about publishing. It went something to the effect that writing was more than just putting words on paper, it was about people reading your words. Well, whatever. Point is, I put words on the screen for consumption and it’s awfully nice to get the occasional comment . . . no matter whether I agree with it or not.

Earlier this week I wrote about a Bill pending before the Rhode Island legislature. The Bill aims to prevent marinas from prohibiting boat owners hiring outside vendors. I got a good comment in response which you can read under the old post. It’s a well written and there’s a sense of earnestness to the whole thing which makes me reply in kind.

The comment argues that a private property owner – like a marina – ought to be able to pick and choose who it wishes to have on its property. I agree with this underlying premise, but it doesn’t change my mind. Let’s start from the beginning. A marina is not a hotel or a restaurant. It’s not simply allowing an owner access to its facility to buy or use a product. A marina leases people physical space to moor/berth a vessel. Its primary product is a parking space and because of that, I believe that any analogy to other industries is distinguishable.

Think of it this way. Allowing marinas to prohibit vendors essentially compels an owner to use the marina’s repair and maintenance services. Oh, I know, free market and all that, but is that defense reasonable when you’re locked into renting a slip for the season? Am I really going to have my boat towed somewhere else for repairs? Probably not.

But listen. Please understand, I’m not advocating anything more than my gut feeling on the matter. I’ve got some good arguments favoring the marinas’ position, too. Hell, like I mentioned in the original post, they’ve got a lot more expenses than Vendor Vic and his panel van. And maybe most importantly – and an unspoken reason that might have me voting the other way – this State needs marinas. Marinas employ folks. They’re lots of temporary jobs at marinas that keep kids busy and help other folks who might be between things. They also preserve trade skills and talent that might otherwise be lost in a whirl of websites and whirligigs. Marinas – particularly the good ones – are a community anchor, are watchdogs over the coastline, and are our last stand between the water’s edge and a line of McMansions and Condos. Oh, come on, you know what I mean.

Underway and making way.

--- JKF

Stolen Seaweed

John Fulweiler - Tuesday, March 30, 2010

With the temps rising some, those bright blue days of boating are near. So in between your yacht's work-up and while the evenings are still chilly, it's not such a bad idea to scan your state's local boating laws. They're likely easy to find online and kind of interesting.

Interesting, you say? My God Fulweiler, you're asking me to read state statutes? Yes, yes. I know it sounds like the Friday-night bit of a lonely maritime lawyer, but it's seriously helpful and, frankly, not much worse than, say, a guide to 12-Volt electrical systems which I'm having a terrible time getting through.

Trust me. Reading these state statutes is helpful because it primes your noggin with some concepts that you'll likely remember when needed. For instance, a lot of states have statutes addressing the liability of an owner for injury or damage caused by the negligent operation of a vessel whether or not the owner is on the boat. Other statutes speak to speed restrictions in certain local waters, lay out penalties for failing to heed the command of local law enforcement, and sometimes address topics that'll make you chuckle. For instance, in Rhode Island, there's a specific state statute speaking to how only the residents of a certain town -- and no one else -- are allowed to take two vehicle loads of seaweed a day from a certain beach. What's the penalty for violating? Apparently, $10.00 for each and every load "so carried off."

You're chuckling now, right?

Underway and making way.

--- JKF


60 Reynolds Street
Wickford, RI 02852
24 Hour Dispatch: 401-295-8711