Outraged Harbour Master TRASHED My Yacht

Discussion in 'All Things Boats & Boating' started by Ultimate Design, Aug 18, 2013.

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  1. Ultimate Design
    Joined: Jul 2013
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    Location: Scotland

    Ultimate Design Ultimate Design

    Hello,do you know if there is a proper way to remove a persons slightly damaged yacht from the shoreline? here are 2 photos of my damaged keel which i could of easily repaired,the harbour master HAS NOW COMPLETLY TRASHED MY YACHT,this must be intentionaly done,they told me they were going to use sheets of plywood laid on the stone beach to drag my yacht into the water and then to tow it to Porthmadog harbour,but when i seen the new photos a few days later both keels were ground down to the hull so obviously they dragged my yacht across stones and did not use plywood,SHOULD THEY PAY ME COMPENSATION FOR THIS DAMAGE? then the yacht tipped over in the water and sunk,then when the tide went out people started looting everything from inside my yacht and stripping parts from the yacht like the boom,main sail,roller reefer,cushions,MY YACHT STARTED WITH JUST A SLIGHTLY DAMAGED KEEL i could of repaired in 2 days then sail back to my mooring but now the harbour master has destroyed a perfectly good yacht,WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE ME?
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    I could even of hired a small building site forklift to lift my yacht back into the sea after repairing the keel,im just shocked that they can just cause more damage and completely destroy my yacht,now he is saying when can we remove this yacht from the beach,is this harbour master incompetant or inexperienced or oblivious that he has destroyed a persons property which is a criminal offence?
    --
    The trashed yacht photos are on an email and i cant figure out how to transfer them to here from an email,does anyone know?
     

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    Last edited: Aug 18, 2013
  2. El_Guero

    El_Guero Previous Member

    Right click your email photos and download to your computer and then upload like you did these photos.

    Sorry for you loss. They should have had more respect. And people should not steal. You probably need legal advice.
     
  3. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    As I mentioned earlier, you need and should have already contacted an attorney. You have a damages suit, though will likely be limited for two basic reasons, you waited to contact the appropriate people (the lawyer) and "salvage" was likely declared, which relieves the harbormaster of some responsibility. If you expect any good from, this you will need the attorney. You needed one weeks ago.
     
  4. dskira

    dskira Previous Member

    PAR it's Scotland, not the US. ;)
     
  5. Leo Lazauskas
    Joined: Jan 2002
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    Location: Adelaide, South Australia

    Leo Lazauskas Senior Member

    Why have you not seen a lawyer as advised by PAR?

    Can you prove it was the harbourmaster who moved your boat?

    How many times did the harbourmaster write to you asking you to move
    the boat?
    (Careful with your answer: he will present copies to the court.)

    Why didn't you move the boat?

    How many times did you tell the harbourmaster that you would move the
    boat but failed to do so?
    (Careful with your answer: the harbourmaster will likely have kept records.)

    I suspect that you should cut your losses and accept that you should
    have moved the boat a lot earlier. If you lose a court case it might cost
    you quite a lot. If I was a lawyer I'd want money in advance.
     
  6. Petros
    Joined: Oct 2007
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    Petros Senior Member

    that is most unfortuanate. it depends on the local laws, and if you can prove who ever moved it was negligent, or perhaps did not follow procedure for warning you the move was immanent. It may not have been the harbor master, but some subcontractor.

    In many places law enforcement is exempt from lawsuites, if they were grossly negligent or did not follow procedures however, there may be an exemption.
     
  7. IMP-ish
    Joined: Jan 2011
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    Location: united states of america

    IMP-ish powerboater

    I'd like to know how your insurance reacts.
     
  8. whitepointer23

    whitepointer23 Previous Member

    go and find the harbor master and give him a good punch in the face, might need the lawyer after that. i feel for you , it is not right that people can do that to your property
     
  9. michael pierzga
    Joined: Dec 2008
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    Location: spain

    michael pierzga Senior Member

    As IMP states....Contact your insurance company.
     
  10. Ultimate Design
    Joined: Jul 2013
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    Location: Scotland

    Ultimate Design Ultimate Design

    More Photos Yacht Trashed by Harbour Master

    Thanks for all your replies,this is the harbour master who destroyed my yacht,he now owes me over £1,500
    -
    <person's name removed>
    --
    As you can see from the first damaged keel photos i posted a few days ago it was very simple to repair and have my yacht back at sea within 3 days but at the time i did not know what to do or what kind of balast or weight of balast and it took me 5 days to find out from a friend and from people here on boatdesign.net but the harbour master did not advice me on repairing my keel,he just put a rope around the yacht and used his 4x4 to pull it upright onto its keels,then i went with them to Porthmadog town 7 miles away and they went back with plywood to drag my yacht across the plywood into the water to tow it back to Porthmadog harbour,but obviously they just dragged the keels across the stones and grounded the keels level with the hull,they sent me photos a few days after dragging it to the water and the keels were ground right down in these photos,THIS IS CRIMINAL DAMAGE,my yacht then tipped over and sunk in 6 feet of water.
    --
    This beach is very remote about 6 miles from Pwllheli town.
     

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  11. Ultimate Design
    Joined: Jul 2013
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    Ultimate Design Ultimate Design

    Harbour Master using rope and 4x4 to pull my yacht onto its keels on first day when the keel was repairable,then later that day they went back and dragged it across the stones to the water and ground the keels down to the hull,at that moment when they pulled it upright i did not know what to do and assumed they knew best and it took me 5 days to find out i could of repaired my yacht on its side then hired a builders forklift to lift it to the water.
    ------------------
    https://www.gov.uk/wreck-and-salvage-law
    QUOTE FROM HALFWAY DOWN,- Summary of offences and penalties ---- S.246 (3) - impeding or hindering attempts to save a vessel, concealing any wreck, defacing or obliterating any mark, and wrongfully carrying away or removing any wreck carries a £2,500 fine on summary conviction
     

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  12. Grey Ghost
    Joined: Aug 2012
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    Location: california

    Grey Ghost Senior Member

    Request a copy of the salvage / wreck removal procedures from the authorities.

    You won't get anywhere if the harbour master followed legal procedure for salvage or wreck removal as per the law where you are.

    You'll need to go through all the details and find if legal procedure wasn't followed. Was the word salvage or wreck used when he contacted you? Did you inform authorities that you were in control of it and were making your own attempts to save the vessel? Document everything carefully and compare with the letter of the law.
     
  13. djaus
    Joined: Jun 2013
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    Location: AU

    djaus Salted Nut!

    I feel for you, I do, but I get the idea there's a few things your not telling us.

    Like how did the yacht get the slightly damaged keel in the first place. Then how did the yacht wind up on the rocks so far from the waters edge.

    How long was the yacht on the mooring (with sails furled). Where were you while this was happening.

    Why did the harbour master get involved. How long was the yacht on the shore. Were you identified as the owner & were you close by or contactable.

    There are 2 sides to every story. You'd do well to admit your faulting part in this situation. Also an unattended yacht in an isolated harbour is just as vulnerable to vandalism on shore as it is on a mooring.
    Looks to me like the yacht wasn't a shiny penny to start with.

    I believe the only reason a harbour master would try to remove a damaged yacht from the shore would be to salvage it 'cause the owner could not be found, in theory after a few attempts.
     
  14. Leo Lazauskas
    Joined: Jan 2002
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    Location: Adelaide, South Australia

    Leo Lazauskas Senior Member

    You have been asked quite a few questions that you are not interested in answering.
    Until you do, why should we not assume the harbourmaster was operating within his legal rights?

    Oh, and for goodness sakes, get a lawyer! You are not competent to handle this
    yourself and you are almost on the verge of slandering the harbourmaster with your
    posts here. That might cost you a lot more than 1500 quid.
     

  15. Ultimate Design
    Joined: Jul 2013
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    Location: Scotland

    Ultimate Design Ultimate Design

    Hello Leo Lazauskas and djaus,thanks for your advice,i really appreciate everyones advice,SORRY MY REPLY IS VERY LONG BUT ITS INTERESTING,i have been contacting yachting lawyers but haven't been succesful.
    --
    I have beached my yacht 3 times before because im learning and you make mistakes while learning and because i was in control those 3 times i unbeached it every time but this 4th time it gently glided onto the stone beach and was perfectly O.K. but 2 people walking past said they would phone the coast guard and i said NO THANKS I DONT NEED THEM but they phoned them anyway and 7 of them arrived at 8pm and CONFUSED THE SITUATION,one said we will come back after midnight when the tide comes back in and tow you to the harbour THEY NEVER CAME BACK,a female coastguard said theres going to be force 6 gales and she was insisting i sleep in my tent in the field WHICH THEY INSISTED ERECTING IT FOR ME and i thought they could have powers like the police to arrest me for not obeying them but i was so exhuasted from a 4 hour sea journey and from being up since 6am i just wanted to rest,so i lay in my tent thinking my yachts going to get damaged and fell asleep within minutes SO I REGRET NOT GETTING BACK ON MY YACHT where i would of put my 2 anchors out the stern and wait for the tide to return and gently pull my yacht of the stone beach WHICH I HAVE DONE IN THE PAST.
    --
    In the morning my yacht was washed onto its side at the top of the beach with one keel slightly damaged and balast missing,I WAS SHOCKED at the damage and did not know what i should do to repair it or how to get to the nearest town 6 miles away,the coast guard had told me someone would return to see me in the morning and 2 harbour masters arrived early morning.
    -
    They put a rope around the yacht and used there 4x4 to pull it onto the keels but IF I KNEW WHAT TO DO i would of asked for there phone number and told them to leave the yacht on its side and i would repair the keel and rudder myself within 3 days BUT IT TOOK ME 5 DAYS to find out what i should do and what balast to use,we then drove back to Porthmadog so i could start finding out what to do and they said they would go back out with plywood to put under the keels to drag my yacht off the stone beach and back to Porthmadog harbour.
    -
    I seen the harbour master later in the day expecting my yacht to be in the harbour but they said they managed to float the yacht but it tipped over and now its going to get flooded and break up when the tide comes in THAT WAS THERE VERY WORDS,i couldn't believe what i was hearing,then the following day they sent me photos of the 2 keels grounded down to the hull and the yacht submerged half on and off the beach.
    -
    Another few days later after my yachting friend said it was repairable and myself realising i could of repaired it on the first day but now it was getting too expensive too replace both keels so i started thinking of selling parts or giving it away rather than it being destroyed.
    -
    These harbour masters knowingly wrecklessly dealt with my yacht as if they didnt know what they were doing or if they did know what they were doing they are guilty of willfuly intentionaly vandalising my yacht,SHOULDN'T THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING to be imployed as harbour masters???? car mechanics KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.
    -
    My yacht was on a very remote stone beach lined with fields for miles in both directions and there was no urgency in getting it removed,I HAD 3 ANCHORS AND ROPES TO SECURE IT,if it was blocking a harbour entrance then it would be urgent to remove it,so i can only assume they were willfuly trying to sabotage recovering my yacht which CARRIES A £2,500 FINE.
    ------------------
    https://www.gov.uk/wreck-and-salvage-law
    QUOTE FROM HALFWAY DOWN,- Summary of offences and penalties ---- S.246 (3) - impeding or hindering attempts to save a vessel, concealing any wreck, defacing or obliterating any mark, and wrongfully carrying away or removing any wreck carries a £2,500 fine on summary conviction
    -
    MY OTHER SUSPICION OF WILLFUL VANDALISM IS for 12 years since year 2000 in Tollcross,Edinburgh when myself and other locals constantly complained to the police about violent youths,harrassing,threatening people,kicking footballs against shop windows trying to break them and this going on for weeks i got angry with the police and threatened to do something about it and since then corrupt police have been spreading false rumours instructing people to harrass me and to vandalise my property like slashing bike tyres,buckling wheels telling people the police are trying to get me put in a psychiatric hospital and after 5 years i have found out thousands of other citizens are being subjected to a Stalanist police state system that now runs europe and America and that the recession and banker bailouts are a SCAM to steal peoples money to TRANSFER WEALTH and create an elitist super rich class and a super poor class just like Stalin did where the elites plan to get rid of all the poor class because they say the world is over populated and they plan to reduce world population from 7 billion to 500 million people by year 2030 within the next 16 years,THIS IS STATED in U.N. AGENDA 21 signed by 200 heads of governments,including,Bush senior,Clinton,Obama.
    -
    Bill and Melinda Gates polio vaccination campaign in India and Africa is a cover to sterilize millions of Indian and African children with hidden sterilization vaccines hidden in the polio vaccine.
    -------
    George Green is a former investment banker who worked with the people
    planning to take over the world,he is now exposing them. http://www.nohoax.com/
    -
    George Green Interview February 2010 part 1/6 YouTube
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMU8o3wH8Gk
    At 3;36mins elites plan on reducing world population
    At 4:35mins elites plan to get war started in the middle east by year
    2000 to then spread to USA as depopulation plan
    At 8:25mins the people who rule the planet are the BIS Bank of
    International Settlements in Switzerland http://www.bis.org/ they are
    controled by the Rothschilds they control 85% of the worlds wealth and
    control the legal system,courts,food supply,media,
    At 8:32mins the elites headed by the Rothchild family are currently in
    process of killing millions of people using ANY WAY NECESSARY because
    of ecological unsustainability,THEY ARE DRIVING THE BREAKDOWN OF
    SOCIETY.
    At 9:55mins George says extraterrestrials engineered our planet to
    sustain 500 million people and the ruling elites are currently
    reducing world population to that level over the next 16 years by year
    2030.
    ----------------------------
    George Green Interview - February 2010 part 3/6
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcYIiHUKjSM
    At 7mins there are 50 million Americans who do not pay income tax
    because they found out its not written into law now the IRS have no right to arrest anyone for not paying there taxes
    -----------------
    From Freedom to Facsism a movie by Aaron Russo
    -------------
    Bank for International Settlements
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_for_International_Settlements
    -
    BIS Bank of International Settlements in Switzerland http://www.bis.org/
    -
    Georgia Guidestones,standing stones engraved by the global elites when Jimmy Carter was president saying they want to keep the world population to 500,000,000 million,its written in 9 languages.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Guidestones
    -
    ====== EX-ROYAL NAVY LT. COMMANDER Brian Gerrish =========
    -
    'Charity' Common Purpose investigated by Brian Gerrish | Edge Media
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-HEZXSA2u0
    Brian and his ex-Navy friends set up BOAT BUILDING business in Plymouth to help unemployed youth,his business started to get threatened to shut it down he was told COMMON PURPOSE were behind the threats.
    -
    http://www.ukcolumn.org/ UK Column founded by Ex-Royal Navy Lt. Commander Brian Gerrish in Plymouth,U.K. (WATCH LIVE) 1pm mon-fri,
    exposes COMMON PURPOSE installed as secret organisation is dismatling all government and authority organisations in U.K. to bring in police state dictatorship.
    ----
    Lt Commander Brian Gerrish resigned from the Royal Navy because he could no longer follow corrupt orders intentionaly designed to destroy the British fishing industry.
    ----
    Brian Gerrish,UK Column Live - 16th August 2012
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQryIlq9OwQ&feature=relmfu
    At 44:42mins Brian Gerrish interviews Roger Hayes ex-merchant seaman and former member of the UKIP party about the NWO communist One World Government and the intentional breakdown of society and being unlawfully inprisoned for not paying council tax to a corrupt government,Roger Hayes
    is now Chairman of The British Constitution Group
    http://www.thebcgroup.org.uk/
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2013
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