21 F. 409 | D. Del. | 1884
The schooner Katie Collins, laden with lumber and bound from Jacksonville, Florida, to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, went ashore on the Viginia coast, about seven miles south of Ghineoteague' island, at midnight on the thirtieth of October, 1881. The disaster was attributed to mistaking the Ghineoteague light, on her starboard bow, for the head-light on a steam-ship. The next day her captain sent a message to the nearest telegraph station, to be forwarded to the libelants at Norfolk, Virginia, requesting them to come to his assistance at once. This message was received by the libel-ants at 12 o’clock m. on the first of November, and they immediately made preparations to go to the relief of the stranded vessel, distant about 80 miles from Norfolk and 50 miles from Cape Charles. The wrecking schooner B. & J. Baker, of 100 tons burden, owned by the libelants, supplied witli a beach-anchor, hoisting engine, steam-pump, and other necessary appliances used in the wrecking business', with a crew of eight men all told, left Norfolk the same night, in tow of the tug Nettie, for Hampton roads. On the morning of November 2d, the Baker was taken in tow by the Battler, a larger tug, which had come from Baltimore by order of the libelants, and was brought round to the vicinity of the Collins, coming to an anchor a few miles to the southward, for fear they might pass her in the dark. Early on Thursday, November 3d, Nelson, the wreck-master in charge of the expedition, anchored directly off the Collins, at the distance of about 200 fathoms. His first step was to take the soundings, rowing
After testimony had been taken on both sides, and before tho ar
“On the contrary the respondent avers, by reason of the premises, and by-reason of the damage and injury done to said schooner by the unskillful manner in which said salvage services were performed, the libelants have either wholly forfeited all claim to a salvage reward, or should be awarded such a sum as will place their claim as in the lowest order of merit, ” etc.
Due notice was given to the libelants of the intention to submit this motion, and of the taking of additional testimony under the amended answer. I can see no valid objection to the allowance of this motion under the twenty-fourth admiralty rule, and as it is made to the discretion of the court, it has been granted without terms. From the additional testimony it appears that about two months before the Collins went ashore she had been largely repaired, nearly rebuilt, and that after she was hauled off upwards of $2,000 were expended in putting her in good condition. The answer, as originally filed, denies that the officer and men employed by the libelants were skilled for the salvage service by them undertaken, “but, on the contrary, said officer did not evince a high degree of intelligence in directing his efforts, and spent twelve days in fruitless exertion, and finally abandoned a course of action which the master of the schooner, from the beginning, condemned and protested against.”
It is contended by the respondent that the work of getting the vessel off was unnecessarily prolonged by the want of good judgment and intelligent action on the part of the salvors, and that in consequence of this, and of their unskillful management, the vessel was badly strained and damaged by pounding on the beach for so many days, when by proper means and well-directed efforts she could have been floated in.a few hours. The respondent insists that the first position of the beach-anchor was the result of an accident—the parting of the Rattler’s tow-line just before it was let go, when the Baker was to the south and off the port quarter of the Collins. The admissions and conduct of Nelson and the log-book of the Collins, as well as the testimony of the respondent’s witnesses, go very far towards sustaining these positions, which are still further supported by the speedy floating of the vessel after the beach-anchor was moved directly astern ,of her. The statements of the members of the working crew are contradictory or conflicting, but the actual occurrences, as detailed by all of them, appear to confirm the causes of delay as alleged by respondent'. The master of the Collins protested against placing the anchor so far south, instead of directly astern, by asking Nelson “if he was going to haul her off sideways.” Nelson’s excuse is that he laid the anchor in a southerly position from the Collins, because there was nearly a dry shoal to the northward of her, and the direction of the anchor was the nearest for deep water. In the opinion of others this shoal or reef was of advantage in affording
After looking at the whole testimony, and observing the slow and at times scarcely perceptible progress made by the salvors, it is difficult to resist the conclusion that they were unfortunate, at least, in the outset, and that, having committed a mistake in letting go the anchor so far to the south, they were equally unfortunate, if not willfully in fault, by persisting in keeeping it there so long as they did. They worked from the third to the fifteenth of November, with the cable at a considerable angle with the length of the schooner, dragging her sideways down the beach. Nelson admits that the cable was two points to the south; others testify to four or five points. Lib. test. 74. After between one-half and two-thirds of the cable had been hauled in, she still remained fast in the sand. Nine hundred feet out from the place where the schooner ran ashore were two fathoms of water, (Lib. test. 78,) and there was no necessity for changing the position of the anchor, if Nelson’s theory was correct. The' cable and chain were 175 fathoms long, of which 130 had been hauled in. Twenty fathoms more would have floated the schooner, if the-anchor had not previously dragged, and Nelson was positive that it had not. Lib. test. 76. After the anchor was moved, on Tuesday, the fifteenth of November, the tides were lower, owing to the prevalence of westerly winds, and the vessel made very little progress until early in the morning of Friday, the 18th, at high water, when she went off. Lib. test. 57. The water had been higher before the 15th than it was after that day, and the schooner finally floated on a medium tide. It is apparent that the wrefck-master was either deficient in judgment and skill, or that he erred against his own knowledge and experience in keeping the anchor where it was first planted for such a length of time, and this, too, in the face of the protest of the-master of the Collins, of the complaints of the men, and of the inability of the wreckers to get her olí.
The prompt movement of the schooner on a moderate tide, after the cable had been moved directly astern, makes the original mistake more glaring. The testimony of the respondent’s witness, Lewis, allowing it equal credit with that of Nelson, proves the first position of the anchor, whether accidental or designed, to have been wrong. Lewis is a wrecker of 20 years’ experience, familiar with the business, and speaks with confidence. He went to the wreck on the Saturday before the anchor was shifted, He says the anchor was about S. by W. from the vessel. It led out of her port-quarter chock, and in Ms opinion it was impossible to heave a vessel off broadside that was buried 15 inches keel down in hard sand. After the anchor was shifted the hawser led about S. E. by E., as near as possible, and in three tides the vessel came off. If the beach-anchor had been placed directly astern in the first instance, she would have come off on the first tide, as the tide on which she floated was lower than they had had. This
The Baker Salvage Company, with a capital of $90,000, is regu
The libelants promptly responded to the call for assistance made by the captain of the Collins, and proceeded with commendable dispatch to her rescue, but the subsequent management of the wreck-master was ill judged, and in consequence there was unnecessary delay in completing the work of hauling off the schooner. ' It is evident that the beach-anchor was at first misplaced, and the result was that the men employed by the libelants worked at a great disadvantage and with consequent injury to the schooner, which was pounded and strained for two weeks, when probably as many days would have been a sufficient length of time for the service actually rendered. There was also culpable delay in throwing over the deck-load, which was not begun until after"the lapse of five days from the time the wreck-master went on board the Collins. The steam-pump was wanting for 10 days, when there was the greatest need of it to lighten the vessel. The hoisting-machine was not in good order, and gave out at the end, when the vessel was hauled off by the aid of her windlass. The chapter of accidents, or of mistakes, errors of judgment, and want of skill, was concluded by running the rescued vessel aground in the bay while yet in charge of the libelants.
The hiring of the tug Battler was really of no service to the respondent, ,as she was employed on her first trip to hunt up the Baker, which had run into Metompkin inlet for a harbor, some 12 miles south of the Collins, and could not return until her crew had been reenforced. The steam-pump brought by the Battler was of no use, because the Baker came back to the wreck before the tug arrived. The tug’s second trip might have been of use, and her employment then cannot be deemed altogether an unnecessary precaution.
Under this finding of the facts I confess to have felt much embarrassment in fixing the amount of compensation which should be given to the libelants, and have concluded, after a careful review of the law and evidence, that this court would not be warranted in decreeing a sum much, if any, in excess of the total amount of moneys actually expended by the libelants in their undertaking. Certainly they did not exercise the highest degree of skill, or- apply their knowledge, experience, and energy to the best interests of the respondent. Their negligence and misconduct were not so gross, however, as to forfeit all claim for compensation, but sufficient to reduce the amount which might have been awarded to them had they acted with more intelligence and energy.
The actual outlay of money by the libelants, including what was paid for the hire of the Battler, of the propriety of which there has been some doubt in my mind, was about the sum of $1,253.45, and for this amount a decree will be rendered with costs for the libel-ants.