On the subject of insurance. Most of you will remember the report of the DeFever "Lazarus Long" that, late last year, ran aground at the shallow entrance to Cap Sante Marina near Anacortes in Washington State. It was discussed on TWL at some length. I had occasion to have a long talk with the owners of Lazarus Long about the incident and the subsequent consequences. I don't think I am betraying any confidences here, as the owners have been very candid in the press about what happened. These were very experienced boaters with a very seaworthy boat. The helmsman made one simple but tragic mistake and lost situational awareness for a few minutes. Steering from below, with all of the blazing lights of Anacortes in his face and reflecting off the windshield, he lost his mental picture of the channel and could not see the channel markers in the glare. It was a calm and clear night when he gently ran her up on a rock ledge. No hull damage, just stuck there. Unfortunately this was at high tide and as the tide receded the boat gradually fell off the ledge onto its side and sank, jammed between the rocks in 11 feet of water. Even with the help of several professional damage control and salvage teams, they could not stop the inflow of water through various vents and deck openings as she slowly rolled on to her side. She broke apart when they tried to raise her with cranes. It was essentially a total loss. It was their home too. So all of their personal belongings, cash, jewels, clothing, all that stuff was aboard. IMHO this could happen to any one of us. The one thing the owners emphasized over and over again, was the quality of their insurance package and how that literally saved them from economic ruin because it was so comprehensive. First, it enabled them to mount an heroic effort to save the boat and the professional salvage teams out of Anacortes are experienced folks. Unfortunately that failed. She sank with 800 gallons of diesel aboard. Once the boat was officially lost, the issues of environmental protection and salvage had to be dealt with. I think I was told that the cost of the environmental and salvage alone was about $100,000.00! That's before starting on the estimate of the cost of the loss of the vessel and their personal belongings. Fortunately they had excellent coverage from a "real" yacht insurance company and they had absolutely no trouble with reimbursement and payments. In fact the insurance agent found them a motel, bought them clothes, gave them some walking around money, etc. I do not know the name of the company. Again, the one thing they emphasized was the quality and comprehensiveness of their insurance package. It's something to think hard about IMO. Joe Engel Portland, OR -----Original Message----- From: Philip J. Rosch [mailto:pjr@netsense.net] Sent: Friday, January 31, 2003 9:07 AM To: trawler-world-list@lists.samurai.com Subject: TWL: RE: Re: Insurance (SNIP) No liability insurance either? What if you pranged a goldplater and you were served with a $100,000 damage claim? What if a non-swimming guest had a few beers too many and fell over the side? What if you hit MY boat? Larry Z