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Fishermen’s Village September Calendars of Entertainment/Events
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And the missing, they too were dead. The Marques was knocked down and sank on June 3, 1984.
The author, a retired naval architect, is a frequent Loose Cannon contributor, having written about the loss of the Pride of Baltimore and Bayesian and the principles of vessel stability in general.
The news media was filled for days after June 3, 1984 with stories about the dramatic capsizing of a British sail training vessel on the first night of a race from Bermuda to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Nineteen people lost their lives when the Marques suddenly sank, including the Captain, his entire family, and two employees of Mystic Seaport Museum who were accompanying trainees in a museum sponsored program.
I followed the news with special interest because I was just wrapping up the largest survey and study of large sailing ship stability conducted up until that time. Thus began one of the most interesting episodes of my career as naval architect, even more memorable in my mind than my dive to the Titanic and subsequent analysis of her sinking.
I was vice-president of Woodin and Marean at the time, naval architects who were members of an industry/U.S. Coast Guard task force to develop new rules for U.S. sail training vessels. I was the principle investigator for the stability aspects of the project and had evaluated the stability of as many large sailing vessels as we could obtain information for. This effort has previously been described in the Loose Cannon piece Pride & Stability, Part 2: Author’s Career Trajectory Leads Directly to the Case.
Phillip Sefton of the U.K. was at the helm when the gust knocked down the shp. Here he tells a news conference that he had managed two turns of the wheel but the rudder came out of the water and the vessel was driven under. The incident, he said, lasted no longer than 45 seconds. He was certain most of the crew down below was dead “within a minute.”
One of the truly tragic losses in the accident was Susan Peterson Howell who was serving as the counselor for the group of sail training students from Mystic Seaport. She was the daughter of famed Maine yacht designer Murray Peterson and knew enough about boats and ships to find herself very concerned about the Marques when she boarded in Bermuda. She wrote her brother, Bill, shortly before sailing and indicated that she would have declined to participate in the voyage after seeing the ship if not for the responsibility she felt for the students.
Her brother, also a naval architect, was testifying in the ongoing inquiry in London and had heard of our work. He hired us to evaluate the Marques and place her stability in the data base of world sailing vessels that we had produced for the sailing school vessel rule-making process.
There were no plans for the vessel. We did have many basic dimensions from official registration sources, plans for large ferro cement fuel and water tanks that had been installed in the bilge, and many photographs. I was able to produce a set of lines from these and create the same kind of computer model as I had for the other vessels in the U.S. Coast Guard study. We had the results of a stability test performed on the Marques during her conversion for movie production.
Applying the numbers from the stability test yielded pretty horrifying results. All the vessels on the graphs we constructed for the study were clustered up in the right hand corner. Way down at the bottom left were three ships that had capsized. The Marques landed right next to them with inches of blank space between ships that were still sailing and those which had capsized.
The personal computer was very new at the time. The term “PC” was only three years old and I was still learning that a printer might change something that looked right on the screen. There was some deadline, and I sent out a preliminary report to the London investigators without looking at the print outs which had changed the symbol for the Marques into something like #*&^$. The British investigators sent back a reply pointing out that we had sent them gibberish and claiming that our number for the center of gravity of the vessel was too high.
This was not a happy time at Woodin and Marean. Due to financial miss management and some bad decisions by Parker Marean, the president, I had not been paid in months. We disagreed about just about everything, and I would have been gone long before if not for wanting to see the design of the sailing hip Corwith Cramer through to the end. Parker looked at the British letter and said, “This is a disaster. I’ve got to tell Bill and the British that you are off the project and I’m taking over.”
At the same moment, I’m looking at the letter and, with my greater familiarity with the numbers and computer model, I can see that I have the British cold with their own numbers even if they did make the ship look a bit better than my initial calculation. Parker called up Bill Peterson and his lawyer and told them I was off the case. They told him that, if I was, he was also, and they would find another naval architect. Plans then began to be made for me to travel to London to testify in the official wreck inquiry. Bill and his lawyer declined to pay for Parker to come. He offered to pay his own way, and they told him that it would just complicate our presentation and that he was basically not welcome.
After my corrected report was sent to London, the British Department of Transport hired me as their consultant and established that I would be testifying in a status roughly equivalent to “Friend of the Court” in U.S. parlance.
We were a three-person team that traveled to London. Joining us was Buzz Fitzgerald, a lawyer who later became president of Bath Iron Works. I can’t think of anyone I ever worked with who had more integrity and good sense. He was a truly great man who, if not for a brain tumor, probably would have become governor of Maine and perhaps risen even higher. I learned as we flew over that the owner of the vessel was a cousin of the Queen and the entire British establishment had resisted any inquiry into the causes of the sinking.
The mother of one of the victims, Shirley Cooklin, had campaigned tirelessly but was unable to find a lawyer willing to take the case except for one civil-rights solicitor who had none of the background for such an undertaking.
The author finally published her recollection of events in July. Harper Collins is the publisher and the book is available for e-reading at Google Books and Amazon.
I also learned that we would be staying at the Inns of Court, a unique British institution which is basically a large hotel complex for barristers and solicitors from all over the country to stay while courts are in session in London. Buzz told me that, as far as he knew, no one who was not a member of the British legal establishment, and certainly no foreigners, had ever stayed there.
Buzz told me that the British lawyer was letting us stay in his chambers as a poke in the eye of the establishment, which he felt was attempting to cover up the causes of the accident. The British are masters of expressing contempt and disapproval through icily correct politeness and the behavior of the staff at the Inns certainly supported that assessment.
Wreck Inquiry
The board for the wreck inquiry was composed of three men known as “assessors”. One was a naval architect and the other a master mariner. The chairman was a barrister. We learned shortly after arrival that the chairman and every lawyer for a party in what could be considered a defensive position—the owner, the insurance company, shipyards, etc.—all were in the same chambers, roughly the equivalent of a law firm in the US. Buzz said, “The fix is in.” He went on to say that, since everyone in the London legal system is a gentleman, they can be counted on to behave honorably and they therefore do not obsess about conflicts of interest as the U.S. legal system does. He then said, “Right.”
The British Department of Transport had its own reasons for being defensive. The vessel was operating under a Load Line Exemption Certificate. The department is empowered to issue these but the regulations and common sense say that you first evaluate the stability and other safety factors so that you know what you are exempting from and the level of risk. They didn’t do that and just issued the blank check. The only possible explanation is, “Oh, cousin of the Queen. You’re good to go. No bother with the expensive inspections and calculations.”
Mystic Seaport and the American Sail Training Association were unaware of the circumstances. They just knew that they were sending students on a ship that had an internationally recognized certificate of safety.
The body of a Marques crewman is carried off the Polish vessel that responded to the sinking and took survivors to Bermuda.
The stability test I referred to above was done by the naval architect who modified the vessel to be a film set. Either he or the former owner practically chained himself to the dock to prevent the vessel leaving on her first sail training mission, saying that she was dangerous and suitable only as a film prop. Interestingly, the Albatross, the other major sail training accident of the period was also a fore and aft rigged vessel decked out for movie production and then lost (after being disposed of and going into sail training).
In the Albatross case, the spars were oversize to look like a larger vessel in close ups. Plans for the rigging and spar dimensions of the Marques were not available but mention was made in earlier publicity that her rig could be made to look like that of vessels of different sizes and types for movie production.
We quickly learned after arrival that the British lawyer was way over his head and completely unprepared. He was a good and honorable man but simply operating with no budget in an area far from his special expertise. We were not suppose to have any contact or communication with him outside the wreck inquiry proceedings but Buzz and Bill were so incensed at the injustice that they perceived happening that we ended up having dinner with the lawyer every evening and spending the time after helping him prepare his case. There also a lot of dinner discussion between the two lawyers about the differences between the U.S. and British systems and listening to those discussions over the ten days was fascinating.
My testimony came early in the inquiry. Buzz had prepared me well and later said he had seldom seen anyone handle themselves better on the stand. I learned that, if the answer to a question was damaging to our position. to just quietly say, “yes” or “no” and let it go. If a question wasn’t clear, I should just make the points we wanted to make that were most closely related until the examiner said, “That’s not what I meant, let me rephrase.”
I floundered a lot the first day trying to get around that fact that the state of knowledge did not permit assigning a wind velocity to any particular wind-heel curve. (For a discussion of these curves, see Stability 9: Heeling Arm Curves.) The vessel owner’s lawyer kept implying that what I was really testifying to was that we didn’t know anything useful.
My one good moment that morning was when a lawyer presented nearly identical stability data for another vessel (the one used in the movie “White Squall”) and how far she had sailed without incident. He asked, “What would you say to the master of this ship?”
I said, “I would tell him, ‘This ship is going to kill you’.” Dramatic silence. No further questions.
Years later I related this to someone, and he said annoyed, “Yes, I flew all the way out to Australia to spend two weeks on that ship, and all I did was load iron and lead pigs into the bilge. We never left port. Thanks a lot.”
Just before a lunch break, I had a sudden epiphany that changed everything about the way I have approached stability since. It figured heavily in my discussions of the recent Bayesian capsize in this story: Bayesian Stability Calculus Suggests There Really Were Only Seconds To Save Lives. I drew a bunch of wind heel curves and the vessel’s righting arm on the blackboard while eating my sandwich and waited for the hearing to resume.
The Moment
The owner of the Marques returned from lunch, looked at the blackboard, and I could hear him groan contemptuously something like, “Oh God, what now?” My testimony began. I pointed at the wind heel curve that corresponded to a 10-degree heel angle and said (as best I remember):
“We all agree from other testimony that the vessel was heeling 10 degrees just before the sudden capsize. We don’t know what the wind velocity was. This curve could be full sail in a moderate wind or storm canvas in a strong wind, any combination of sail plan, wind, and course that produces a 10-degree heel. This righting arm curve is based on the center of gravity established by the British investigators and with which I agree. This other wind heel curve lies just above the entire righting arm curve and therefore represents a combination of forces that would capsize the vessel. This is also something on which we all agree.
We can not, at the current state of the art and the information available, assign a wind velocity to this curve. However, wind pressure varies as the square of the velocity. So, if we take the square roots of the upright values of these two curves, we can determine the difference in wind speed to take the vessel from the angle at which we know she was sailing at to the wind speed that would capsize her if immediate action was not taken to ease sheets or change course.”
I did the calculation and said, “So, the increase in wind speed necessary to capsize the vessel was only 22 percent. The speed increase of a strong gust on a blustery day is about 50 percent so this vessel was an accident waiting to happen and her eventual capsize was inevitable.”
The inquiry was being held in the impressive room where the House of Lords met during World War II. There were well over 100 people in the room. Buzz had instructed me that, if I got a chance to make a strong point like that, I should just freeze still until I heard a sound. I did. I have seldom heard such a silence. I stood with my chalk on the board for what seemed like a long, long time. When I finally heard stirring, I turned to see the owner of the vessel with his face in his hands. It was one of the most dramatic moments of my life.
The inquiry adjourned for the day and the naval architect on the board came up to me and said, “Marvelously clear. Wonderful.” He then invited us to a meeting of the Royal Society of Naval Architecture that evening. I was excited to go but Buzz said, “Oh, we can’t. It would be totally inappropriate. He knows it and knows that we know it. It was just a gesture.”
Buzz told me the next morning that I should not return to the remainder of the inquiry so as to appear uninterested. I was sorry to miss Bill’s and other’s testimony but got to spend a week enjoying London. During our flight back to the U.S., Buzz told me that I had to get loose from that loser Parker, and he would help me pro bono to extricate myself and get my own company started.
That was the beginning of Roger Long Marine Architecture, Inc. and my independent career. One of my first jobs was prompted by the discovery of the actual lines plan for the Marques. I was asked to redo all of my calculations using the now known actual shape of the hull and was pleased to discover that my reconstruction from all the bits and pieces of information at the beginning was so close that there was no significant change to my conclusions. I was the only person in the inquiry, other than Bill Peterson, who had testified that the vessel’s stability was in any way deficient.
The governor of Bermuda, Viscount Dunrossil, meets with survivors.
The results of the inquiry eventually were published. As Buzz said, the fix was in. He said that, in the U.S., my testimony would have put the owner of the vessel in jail. Britain was not going to imprison the Queen’s cousin so the way they let him off was to basically say that, yes, the stability of the vessel was abysmal and she never should have been allowed to do sail training but only Roger Long could have known that due to his research into sailing vessel stability.
That certainly made me look good, but it was a miscarriage of justice. We had anticipated this and been careful in our testimony to point out that all of the methods we were using were described in “White’s Manual of Naval Architecture” published in London in 1877. They just conveniently overlooked that.
Even if the British regulators did not know of my research, the slightest curiosity about exempting the vessel from regulations should have gone like this:
Old vessel for carrying fruit modified with a larger rig and big deckhouses.
I wonder how much ballast needed to be added to compensate?
Oh, there’s no ballast at all!
Those ferro cement tanks could be considered ballast I wonder how much they weight?
Oh, that’s only a 12 percent ballast ratio. I wonder what is typical for vessels of this configuration?
Typical ballast ratio for vessels of that type is at least twice that much and often more.
Yikes! We’ve got to take a closer look at all this.
The amazing thing to me is that she made it all the way around the world in that condition but big ships are sailed very conservatively because the cook and others complain when there is water on the deck or much heel. Eventually though, the invisible fine margin between the rail cap going under and capsize will doom the vessel.
A philosophical question that came up in the aftermath of the hearing: If a building is knocked down by a tornado and later analysis shows that a 50 mph wind could have flattened it due to structural deficiency, was the tornado the cause and were the architect or builder at fault? Part of the rational for the inquiry findings was that the conditions were so severe that she would have gone over anyway (although no other ships did).
Much was made of the fact that the captain (the official one; not the sailing master) told the press that the U.S. Coast Guard training ship Eagle was knocked down to 55 degrees. If that could happen to such a mighty ship, who could blame the poor little Marques for lying down. Red Shannon, the sailing master, invited me aboard the Eagle rather strangely at an ASTA conference and gave me a tour.
In the middle of it, we stopped at a ring bolt on deck, and he whispered, “The water came right to there. I was watching.” The ring bolt was on the vessel plans we had. I went back and determined that the heel angle was only 25 degrees. Red didn’t want to embarrass the captain, but he wanted to be sure I had accurate information for my ongoing research.
This whole affair led to considerable additional research in England and the establishment of one of the best set of stability regulations for sailing vessels in the world. The wind heel curve comparison, without assigning wind velocity, which occurred to me in a flash of insight that morning, became an essential feature of those regulations.
Roger Long
LOOSE CANNON covers hard news, technical issues and nautical history. Every so often he tries to be funny. Subscribe for free to support the work. If you’ve been reading for a while—and you like it—consider upgrading to paid
Retired designer of boats and ships, former. Explorer and researcher of the Titanic. Private pilot. Internationally recognized authority on the stability of large sailing ships. Avid cruiser with over 40,000 miles in sail and power.
A question from one of our readers regarding parking a trailer:
Stephen asks: Are there any points on the loop where I would be able to park a trailer while on the loop? I had talked to Mackies Marina; however, they are closed now, and it looks like they are permanently closed.
Can anyone share their experiences and recommendations?
Tranquil times continue across the Atlantic Basin, which is the exact opposite of what we usually see in mid-September.
We have no tropical cyclones to track and only a couple of areas of interest. There are four tropical waves traversing the tropical Atlantic today:
Along 80° west over the western Caribbean Sea
Along 57° west, just east of the Lesser Antilles
Along 34° west, west of Cabo Verde
Along 22° west, having just emerged from West Africa
Visible satellite imagery of the Atlantic Basin today shows four tropical waves over the Caribbean Sea and tropical Atlantic, a band of clouds off the east Coast associated with a stationary front, and clouds with an extratropical storm southeast of Bermuda.
Image Source: University of Wisconsin RealEarth
The only one of these that is of any concern for development is the one that has just moved over the Atlantic from Africa. The other three are disorganized and in an unfavorable environment due to strong winds aloft, causing shear and sinking air, suppressing thunderstorm development. The easternmost wave has a broad turning motion associated with it, but not a lot of thunderstorm activity.
Computer models are in good agreement that the wave between Cabo Verde and Africa is likely to become a tropical cyclone over the middle of the tropical Atlantic next week, so it’s one to watch closely. The National Hurricane Center says it has a 40% chance of developing in this area next week.
So, this is a feature to watch closely. The unfavorable conditions we currently see over the Atlantic will shift eastward over the next few days, and a wave of more favorable conditions (rising air and less shear) will move in from the west. Usually, we blame the Madden-Julian Oscillation, but it’s weak right now, so we have other factors at work this time. So, I don’t think we’ll see a repeat of last week, when a wave over the middle of the tropical Atlantic seemed to have all systems go for development, but it fizzled instead. What’s left of that feature is the wave over the western Caribbean Sea today.
It’s far too early to say with certainty whether it will eventually have impacts on South Carolina, but most models take the feature toward Bermuda instead of the East Coast. If that’s right, we’d only see beach and boating impacts.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic, a non-tropical storm system southeast of Bermuda is causing thunderstorms, but it’s unlikely to evolve into a tropical entity. We also still have an old stationary front over the far western Atlantic, and features like that sometimes pull tropical shenanigans. We have seen that many times, including this year with Chantal. We’ll pay close attention to this area early next week because some models show an area of low pressure forming off the Southeast Coast, then moving into one or both Carolinas around Tuesday. The feature will likely be weak and probably non-tropical, though—more on that situation below.
As always, maintain your readiness for hurricanes and other disasters. SCEMD’s hurricane.sc and earthquake.sc websites are great resources for disaster prep information.
It has turned dry over most of South Carolina over the last few weeks. My backyard near Gaston has only seen measurable rain once since August 23, and that was only 0.06″. Most of South Carolina has been dry for the last month; the one notable exception is the coastal Lowcountry, which saw soaking rains at the end of August and earlier this week.
This plot of percent-of-normal rainfall across South Carolina over the last 30 days ending at 8 a.m. today from HRAP shows how dry it’s been lately over most of our state.
Image Source: WeatherBELL
Strong high pressure centered over eastern Canada and New England has been in control of our weather most of the time since late August and is responsible for the dry spell. This setup will continue through this weekend, so the dry and tranquil weather will continue through Sunday. It will remain warm (highs will be in the lower to middle 80s) with low humidity, so expect a lovely weekend overall.
Early next week, we’ll watch for a low-pressure area to form along a stationary front offshore. Models are in good agreement that a weak storm system will form, but they don’t all agree that it will move northward into the Carolinas. The more reliable models (including everyone’s favorite, “The Euro”) call for the feature to develop later Monday or Monday night and move northward slowly, causing some rain along our coast Monday night and perhaps most of the state on Tuesday into Wednesday. Hopefully, this is how it comes to pass because we really could use the rain. If this is what we see, then temperatures will be held down with highs mainly in the 70s to low 80s those days due to clouds and rain.
If the minority view of the models (including sometimes non-trustworthy GFS) carries the day early next week, then we remain dry and warm with highs in the 80s as a very weak storm system tracks offshore.
The end of next week is likely to be warm and rain-free, though another cold front could arrive with low-end rain chances as early as late Friday.
Frank Strait Severe Weather Liaison S.C. State Climate Office X: @SCwxFrankStrait
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources 260 D. Epting Lane West Columbia, SC, 29172
What’s Happening In Your Parks during September – Charleston County Parks
Birds of a Feather
On September 27, flock to Caw Caw Interpretive Center for live music, cold drinks, and the chance to chat with your fellow bird lovers and social butterflies. Get your tickets in advance to save $5!
Cast Away
Fishing for a good time? Drop a line at our next Cast Off Fishing Tournament on September 13! Whether you’re solo fishing or hanging with your crew, you’ll be in good company on the Mount Pleasant Pier, reeling in fun and soaking up the Saturday morning sunshine.
Understanding Rice Culture
On September 13, go deep into the big impact of this tiny grain. Join us at Caw Caw for a walk through a historic landscape shaped by rice cultivation and the people who grew it. As history lessons go, it’s a captivating one – don’t miss out!
Last Call!
Say so long to summer with one last Moonlight Mixer. On September 19, twirl your favorite dance partner across the Folly Beach Pier at our final dance of the season. DJ Bill Shelton will be spinning your favorite tunes, so get your tickets today!
Applause for Paws
Don’t miss Charleston Animal Society’s Applause for Paws: Emerald City Gala on October 4 at The Gaillard Center, an enchanting evening inspired by the timeless allure of Oz. Voted Best Fundraising Event & Party of Charleston 2024, the night promises to bring together more than 500 supporters for dinner, dancing, an entertaining program, and much more!
Limited single event tickets are available for purchase. Whether you’re following the yellow brick road solo or with companions, your presence helps to raise life-saving funds for the animals in their care. Get your tickets today!
A longtime CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, historic Edenton always has an exciting calendar of events and places to visit! Edenton is at the mouth of the Chowan River on the northwest shore of Albemarle Sound.
This is one of those community-defining annual events that draws people from all generations, making memories for kids, parents, and even grandparents.
In an age where it is so easy to lose touch with history, this is one of those events that brings everyone together and helps us all reminisce about childhood.
If you are planning to visit this area at the end of September, as many people do, consider stopping by the Chowan County Fair.
It doesn’t matter how old you are; you’ll be a kid again.
Elizabeth City sits at the southern terminus of the Dismal Swamp Canal and has the well-earned reputation of being a transient friendly town with free dockage for 72 hours.
Cozy vibes, waterfront breezes, and local charm await this October.
Autumn unwinds in Elizabeth City and you should too.
Our new self-service kayak kiosk allows users to quickly grab a kayak by downloading the Rent.Fun app. The kiosk brings a splash of adventure right to our community’s doorstep! Read more here.
September 29th through October 3rd 9 am – 4 pm, Arts of the Albemarle presents, Splash Week, a week long artist retreat for artists of all levels and disciplines to create in a communal studio. More information can be found here.
On Friday October 4th from 4 pm – 7 pm, Elizabeth City Downtown Inc. is hosting theFriday ArtWalk. Enjoy an evening downtown as local businesses feature guest artists. Browse downtown shops and dine at favorite restaurants. This event is free to attend.
October 10th and 11th at 5:30 pm, Step back in time with the
annual ECHNA Ghost Walk which blends historic home tours, immersive theatre, and local history into an unforgettable evening experience. Tickets are required for this event.
October 11th from 12 pm – 4 pm Hosted by Ghost Harbor Brewing Co. and Elizabeth City Downtown Inc., A thrilling mix of craft beer tasting, adventure, and a small business crawl. Teams race through downtown, solving challenges and collecting puzzle pieces.Tickets can be purchased here.
October 24th – 26th at 10 am Celebrate craftsmanship at the 65th Albemarle Craftsman’s Fair, three days filled with handmade artistry, live demonstrations, and one-of-a-kind finds. Tickets are required for this event.
October 30 at 7 pm, Elizabeth City State University Community Connections presents, Ailey II: The Next Generation of Dance. Where every performance inspires, captivates and moves audiences. Tickets can be purchased here.
Looking for a perfect place to stay? Explore our lodging accommodations and while you’re in town, discover our local shops and restaurantswaiting to welcome you!
Copyright (C) 2025, Visit Elizabeth City. All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is: Visit Elizabeth City 400 South Water Street Suite 100 Elizabeth City, NC 27909
This post contains interesting information for any U.S.-registered boat, especially if you are considering traveling to Cuba.
Cruisers Net publishes Loose Cannon articles with Captain Swanson’s permission in hopes that mariners with salt water in their veins will subscribe. $7 a month or $56 for the year, and you may cancel at any time.
Amokura was lost on Johnson Reef after grounding there on July 17, 2023.
Don’t blame us because you lost your boat, the Boy Scouts of America says, even though we were chartering her for our adventure-at-sea program: The skipper was to blame for the accident, and he was working for you, not us.
The Boy Scouts also advanced a couple of technical arguments for why a lawsuit against them should be thrown out of court. They are apparently arguing the suit was filed a day after the statute of limitations had expired, and, besides, it should have been filed in a county in Florida, not the U.S. Virgin Islands.
On July 17, 2023, Libbie Oliver’s Pearson 424 ran into a prominent reef of the island of St. John. According to Oliver’s lawsuit, filed on July 17, 2025, the captain was at fault, and he had been recommended by the Boy Scouts. Oliver also said the organization had failed to properly advise her about insurance.
The boat, named Amokura, remained stranded on Johnson Reef until she was ultimately destroyed by a storm in September 2023. Oliver wants the Scouts to compensate her for loss of the vessel, which she alleges happened when the captain stepped away and left one of the scouts at the helm.
Captain Timothy Frances Styles was hired by plaintiff making him plaintiff’s employee. The vessel grounded while under the command and supervision of Captain Styles. As such, the claims and damages alleged by plaintiff relate to the actions or inactions of plaintiff’s employee. Therefore, the claims brought against BSA must be dismissed with prejudice.
Opposing lawyers also argued that, under the contract between Oliver and the Scouts, disputes were to be decided according to Florida law and, if need be, adjudicated in a court in Monroe County in the Florida Keys. The also said:
Plaintiff failed to mitigate her damages by failing to engage a salvor/tow company to remove the vessel from its strand causing additional damages. Plaintiff was contributorily negligent as she failed to properly vet, train and/or supervise Captain Sayles and/or remove the vessel from its strand.
In her suit, Oliver argued that she couldn’t get Amokura towed off the reef because the recovery wasn’t covered under an insurance policy obtained from Offshore Risk Management, a company recommended to her by the Scouts. The scouts deny having made such a recommendation.
In their answer to the suit, the Scouts’ lawyers also said that both Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands have a two-year statute of limitations on this type of action, which suggests that with both events—the wreck and the filing of suit—happening on July 17, the filing actually happened one day after the two-year statute had expired.
Amokura shown after striking Johnson Reef.
A lawyer who has nothing to do with the case suggested reasons why the statute-of-limitations article may not succeed. He said interpretation depends on individual court rules about counting time and whether weekends and holidays are included. Every state has slightly different language, he said.
Also, because the drama revolving around Amokura’s grounding continued for many days afterward, until her destruction, there is leeway as to when to begin the statute-of-limitations countdown.
LOOSE CANNON covers hard news, technical issues and nautical history. Every so often he tries to be funny. Subscribe for free to support the work. If you’ve been reading for a while—and you like it—consider upgrading to paid.
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