I believe it's a Columbia, very roughly 30 feet.
The boat's been bounced around like a ping pong ball. Someone worked on it last year at a local yard. Then it was tied up to the town dock. Then it was put on a friend's mooring for weeks while the local law enforcement people claimed they couldn't do anything about it. (The analogy was that it was like a car parked in your driveway, they couldn't touch it.) Speculation is that it's belongs to a local -- the marine police know who owns it but don't want to do anything about it. (And this is all heresay and rumors that I've heard.)
Then somebody moved it off the mooring ball and anchored it - single anchor. That was almost 2 months ago. We go through a 360 degree wind shift every 3 days on average. I heard it's a light anchor too. No sign of the owner. [I circled her in my dinghy, no signs of chafe on the anchor line.]
Now with hurricane Earl coming near, I'm wondering if she will end up on the shore in our little lake. There's already one sailboat hull on the shore from many years ago that is now a part of someone's bulwark.
I worry that it will ruin the reputation of us cruisers that like to be there.
Any suggestions appreciated. I think one person wants to take her off shore and sink her. (That would be a real waste and doesn't seems right.) People are eyeing up her brand new mast, inflatable lifeboat, stackpack. That seems like theft.
One person rummaged through the interior and did find a name. Maybe the best bet is for me to get more involved trying to track that person down.
I guess I should also put a second anchor on her tomorrow before Earl comes through. Any problem with my boarding an abandoned boat with the intent of preventing damage to her and other people's property? It feels like tresspassing, but it feels right to help out. (And I don't want a big blue projectile headed toward us in the storm.)
And why does this need to be my problem, when the 5 or 6 marine patrol entities here have such a good presence checking registrations and holding tank valves? I really don't understand that at all. There's no registration, no name on the boat. Not sure it matters, but it's a charted anchorage.
I need some advice on this one. This is a ticking time bomb waiting to cause a mishap. There's no solar panel so when the bilge pump battery dies, she'll sink in 8 to 10 feet of water, in an area that has a lot of waterskiing and tubing. Underwater, that rigging will be murderous.
Regards,
Brad
The boat's been bounced around like a ping pong ball. Someone worked on it last year at a local yard. Then it was tied up to the town dock. Then it was put on a friend's mooring for weeks while the local law enforcement people claimed they couldn't do anything about it. (The analogy was that it was like a car parked in your driveway, they couldn't touch it.) Speculation is that it's belongs to a local -- the marine police know who owns it but don't want to do anything about it. (And this is all heresay and rumors that I've heard.)
Then somebody moved it off the mooring ball and anchored it - single anchor. That was almost 2 months ago. We go through a 360 degree wind shift every 3 days on average. I heard it's a light anchor too. No sign of the owner. [I circled her in my dinghy, no signs of chafe on the anchor line.]
Now with hurricane Earl coming near, I'm wondering if she will end up on the shore in our little lake. There's already one sailboat hull on the shore from many years ago that is now a part of someone's bulwark.
I worry that it will ruin the reputation of us cruisers that like to be there.
Any suggestions appreciated. I think one person wants to take her off shore and sink her. (That would be a real waste and doesn't seems right.) People are eyeing up her brand new mast, inflatable lifeboat, stackpack. That seems like theft.
One person rummaged through the interior and did find a name. Maybe the best bet is for me to get more involved trying to track that person down.
I guess I should also put a second anchor on her tomorrow before Earl comes through. Any problem with my boarding an abandoned boat with the intent of preventing damage to her and other people's property? It feels like tresspassing, but it feels right to help out. (And I don't want a big blue projectile headed toward us in the storm.)
And why does this need to be my problem, when the 5 or 6 marine patrol entities here have such a good presence checking registrations and holding tank valves? I really don't understand that at all. There's no registration, no name on the boat. Not sure it matters, but it's a charted anchorage.
I need some advice on this one. This is a ticking time bomb waiting to cause a mishap. There's no solar panel so when the bilge pump battery dies, she'll sink in 8 to 10 feet of water, in an area that has a lot of waterskiing and tubing. Underwater, that rigging will be murderous.
Regards,
Brad