14 • Mar. 25 - Apr. 7, 2016 • The Log


Imperial Beach angler catches fish, helps rescue stranded boater


A note in the bottle was found in teeth of reeled-in 20-pound Mexican needlefish.


By Parry “Managua” Ricardo


SAN DIEGO — El Niño has brought anglers some of the most unique catches during the past few months, but an angler’s catch of a Mexican needlefish near San Diego earlier this week resulted in a multinational effort to rescue a boater stranded on Na Gli Gli Island in the South Pacific. Capt. Robert W. Hart, a boater who


recently closed his Santa Barbara law practice and moved to Honolulu, was discovered stranded on Na Gli Gli Island after his boat crashed there in early January. He took his Hatteras 45 Express, I Hart Fishing, on a fishing expedition around the Hawaiian Islands when a mildly breezy and warm day inexplicably turned for the worst. Hart never returned from his trip and apparently survived six to eight weeks before coast guard crews from the United States and French Polynesia rescued him on March 23; he has been in the hospital since being rescued from the tiny 0.5-square-mile island. “We’re thankful someone actually took the message in a bottle seriously. I certainly wouldn’t have had I come across it,” Hart’s daughter, Steph Annie Powers, told the press from her Los Angeles home before she left for Honolulu. “We were so worried about him. We always knew he’d spend his last days at sea but we never imagined it would happen so soon. I was sure we lost him. But he’s a fishing and boating veteran and has ‘roughed it’ plenty of times, so it’s no surprise he found a way to survive on some tiny island no


Attorney From page 6


procedure that requires the filing of a lawsuit in Federal Court and a “civil arrest” of the vessel by the U.S. Marshals. The lien enforcement procedure


may, or may not include a claim against the owner of the boat, and this is where we take a look at our reader’s question. He thinks that the new owner should be responsible for the slip fees because our reader no longer owns the boat. Unfortunately for our reader, the


new owner never signed a slip rental agreement with the marina, and he therefore has no contractual relation- ship with the marina. The new owner may be liable under other legal theo- ries which look toward the fair value of services provided, but he is not bound by any contract. Our reader, on the other hand, is clearly bound by a con-


one’s ever heard of.” Reed Smith, 64, of Imperial


Beach was the one who took the message in a bottle serious enough to report it to the U.S. Coast Guard in San Diego. Smith found the note after he caught a Mexican needlefish from just beyond a pair of marine reserves west of La Jolla on March 22. He battled with the needlefish for 30 minutes before reeling it aboard his kayak (using live bait on a 25-pound test). As he headed toward La Jolla


Cove Smith noticed what appeared to be a bottle dangling on a wire from the needlefish’s crocodile-like bill. Inside the bottle was a piece of paper; a cork protected the bottle’s interior from water intrusion. “I was stoked to find a needlefish in


Imperial Beach angler Reed Smith shows off the Mexican needlefish he reeled in on March 22. A message in a bottle was found hanging from the needlefish’s bill. The message helped authorities find a recreational boater lost at sea for the past few weeks.


these parts. I don’t think these guys ever make it this far north. But then I saw this bottle hanging from its mouth, I thought it was just some junk he picked up along the way, you know? I mean nowadays there’s so much trash out there,” Smith said. “When I got to shore I saw there was a note inside. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I let my imagination get the best of me and hoped it was a message from a mer- maid.” To Smith’s surprise the piece of paper actually did include a message on it — not from a mermaid, unfortu- nately, but instead from a boater who was stranded on Na Gli Gli Island. The note, which was released to the media by the U.S. Coast Guard, read: “LOST AT SEA. SURVIVING ON


WATER PLANTS AND LOCAL FISH. BOAT BEACHED ON TINY ISLAND. NO RADIO NO PHONE LAST RADAR = 9S 140W. CAPT BOB HART OF I HART


tract which obligates him to vacate the slip upon the termination of the tenan- cy and to pay monthly rent to the marina if he fails to vacate the slip. But as noted above, our reader has a


“partner” in his slip payment obliga- tion and the boat is therefore also liable for the unpaid rent. As a practi- cal matter, the new owner of the boat is the partner since the boat itself does not have a checkbook, and the new owner will suffer the loss of the boat if the marina pursues a lien foreclosure action in Federal Court. But, since the Federal Court procedure is very expen- sive, the marina will continue to pur- sue our reader for payment until the unpaid amount is large enough to war- rant the enforcement of the lien against the boat. In hindsight, our reader probably should have required the boat to vacate the slip upon the closing of the sale to the new owner instead of allow- ing the boat to stay for “a few days.”


FISHING” Smith was skeptical at first but decided to hand the note off to some- one he knew at the Coast Guard. “Honestly I thought it was a joke at


first,” Smith said about the note in a bottle. “My friend at the Coast Guard looked up 9S 140W out of curiosity. We found out it’s somewhere out in the Pacific Ocean.”


The island is just south of the


Equator, about 4,200 miles directly west of Ecuador, and near French Polynesia and the Hawaiian Islands. Coast Guard officials did a database


search of Jim Hart and the boat I Hart Fishing and learned the boat was reported missing out of Ala Wai Boat Harbor in Honolulu in early January. Turns out Hart had left a float plan with the local harbormaster. The plan indicated Hart would be on his boat south of Oahu from Jan. 3-6. The weather for those days was in the low- 80s, according to accuweather.com. It is unclear what caused Hart to become stranded. Coast Guard officials


His best approach at this point is to work with the new owner to move the boat, and he should talk to an attorney to develop a strategy to make that hap- pen.


David Weil is licensed to practice law in the state of California and, as such, some of the information provided in this column may not be applicable in a jurisdiction outside of California. Please note also that no two legal situa- tions are alike, and it is impossible to provide accurate legal advice without knowing all the facts of a particular sit- uation. Therefore, the information pro- vided in this column should not be regarded as individual legal advice, and readers should not act upon this infor- mation without seeking the opinion of an attorney in their home state.


David Weil is the managing attorney at Weil & Associates (weilmaritime.com) in Long Beach. He is an adjunct profes-


informed The Log Hart’s boat was inoperable and mangled on the shores of Na Gli Gli Island, its radar and radio confirmed to be broken. “I’m just glad I didn’t toss the note back into the water,” Smith said. “What are the odds a fish rare to American waters would have a real message in a bottle attached to her? That guy owes the needlefish his life.” Smith added he had no idea where


Mexican needlefish are found. After submitting the message in a bottle to the Coast Guard and had the fish weighed Smith said he would try to have the needlefish stuffed and given to Hart as a gift.


This is a work of fiction and written as a satire column in honor of April Fools Day. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagina- tion or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coinci- dental.


sor of Admiralty Law at Loyola University Law School, is a member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States and is former legal coun- sel to the California Yacht Brokers Association. He is also one of a small group of attorneys to be certified as an Admiralty and Maritime Law Specialist by the State Bar of California. If you have a maritime law question for Weil, he can be contacted at 562-438-8149 or at dweil@weilmaritime.com.


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