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It Can Happen to You

By Andy Powers, Captain of the Port, Island Boat Club, City Island, NY

It was 0900 the morning of 28October, 2006 as I crossed City Island Bridge to check on the Anticipation. To my surprise I saw sail masts tangled against the bridge. Three sail boats had broken loose from their moorings and were pinned against CI Bridge by the wind and current. One had already been dragged under and pinned (see far left), the others were bouncing off the see several other boats, both sail and power, aground along Rodman’s Neck. All had broken loose from their moorings in the high winds, proving the point that one can never take too many precautions when anticipating a storm. Seeing this I hurried to Island Boat Club to check the damage to the good ship Anticipation.

 As the wind howled out of the sou’-sou’ west, the docks were tossing up and down, side to side along with every boat as well. But all were safe and secure, thanks to the Crew of IBC under the direction of yard owner Billy Steiniger, who took the precaution of adding extra line to all the boats and ensuring that all were properly secured to their floats and slips. This incident demonstrates the realities and importance of preparing for a storm. Those who were prepared survived while others ended in peril.

Although many of the boats stranded on the shore of Rodman’s Neck and the CI Bridge were rescued by towboats, many became victims of the outgoing tide, rocks and “visitors” from shore. 

I spoke with the owner of the sailboat stuck under the western underpass of the bridge who told me that a dead battery had prevented her husband from taking the boat from its City Island mooring to safe harbor. Instead, their crippled boat would be removed by a salvor, leaving them with determining if their insurance policy would cover the full cost of the salvage or alternatively either paying the expensive salvage cost or losing their vessel. Their precarious situation could have been prevented by reinforcing the mooring lines.

So what is the difference between a tow and a salvage? What does it mean to you as a boat owner? Foremost, it means that a careful review of your insurance policy is in order as not all policies cover the full cost of salvage. Salvage is any voluntary and successful rescue of a boat, its cargo and/or its passengers from a peril at sea, and the cost of remediation is often substantially greater than simple towing. Where as towing is charged by the hour or based on distance, salvage costs add a substantial charge based on the size and value of the vessel in addition to time. It is easy to see how many boat owners in this situation can end up losing their boat to a salvage company. Lessons learned: never think it can’t happen to you and be prepared by checking your batteries, dock or mooring lines and your insurance policy. 

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