T&T: Obligations for Rescue at Sea in California

[Roger Lalonde]

Subject: Re: T&T: Obligations for Rescue at Sea

My opinion and 2 cents worth.

I have been doing rescue work now for 29 years as a VOLUNTEER and have more 
than 640 rescues so far. I have never been sued or held responsible for 
anything. We have helped out dingys to 65 footers and commercial shipping, 
vessels from Boston, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Caymen Islands, British 
Virgin Islands, Australia, Russia, Bemuda, Newfoundland, the Great Lakes up 
on the Rideau and Trent Waterway and the Thousand Islands. Rescue work in 
Canada from coast to coast to coast, the US, (Florida, Boston, Lake Ontario) 
the gulf of Mexico, Dominican Republic and Cuba and probably forgetting some 
on the way.

The key thing here is in the assessment of the rescue and the understanding 
you have with the owner before you do anything. Make sure they understand 
the moves you are about to do and that you are open to helping them and make 
sure they understand that you do not want to be sued. In rescue work we are 
responsible for safety of lives at sea (Solas) and not the material things 
like boats. We will try and bring the vessel back too as it is safer to do 
that than trying to switch people from one vessel to the other in a storm. 
In Canada the Coast Guard Auxiliary personel have a waiver that the disabled 
crew have to agree with before we touch them. When this is done on the 
airways with Coast Guard, this is recorded and the recording is kept for 
seven years and therefore there is no legal recourse from the disabled 
vessel. If I remember correctly we only had to use this waiver on two 
occasions when we suspected the crew had been drinking.

If the disabled vessel's crew are ignorant and abusive all you have to do is 
wait and stand by and eventually things will turn around and they will 
accept you kind help and be appreciative.

Roger Lalonde
Coast Guard Auxiliary
Summerstown, Ontario, Canada.