Yesterday we came back to the boat and noticed that a small power boat moored near to us looked a little out of place so we dinghied closer to see that in fact it was dragging and was very close to making contact with another moored boat...
We noticed another local boat had someone aboard so we went over to check whether they knew the owner of the boat and could give him a call to tell him his boat was walkabout. He didn't and suggested we call the local water police and they would come and sort it out in an hour or so...
I've never been much of a math wizard but looking at the boat's direction, wind and the fact that it would most likely hit a couple of boats within a few minutes, and if not stopped by one of those boats then be on a reef in a half hour... Well, waiting an hour for someone to come seemed a little bit long!
So we dinghied over and towed it off the boat it was bumping and took it back to its mooring which was not much of a bother but the fact that we were nervous about the process says a lot about how much things have changed on boats.
Once upon a time it was normal to come to the aid of a boat in distress... But these days of a crazed legal system coming to someones aid is a bit scary as it is as likely to bite you on the butt and get you sued as it is having the owner of the boat you save buy you a beer for doing a good deed.
So it goes in 2010...
Plans Change, Martinique version
1 week ago
