KEY POINTS:
A skipper's plan to force his "mutinous" crew to pay for his lost yacht raises legal questions that may not be resolved in a criminal or civil court, says a maritime law expert.
Bill Heritage's 7.9m sloop Air Apparent was abandoned about 90 nautical miles west of Kaipara Harbour on Tuesday after his crew ignored his orders and set off an emergency beacon in heavy seas.
Mr Heritage had owned the yacht for 15 years and was an experienced sailor but his crew - friend Carl Horn, John Lam-min and Sharan Foga - had only limited sailing experience.
Mr Horn denied that the crew had panicked in setting off the emergency beacon.
Mr Heritage later told Mr Horn the yacht was not covered by insurance and he wanted the three crew to pay him its $24,000 value.
Mr Horn said that would not happen without a court case.
However, maritime law expert Robert Stewart, from the Wellington law firm Izard Weston, said it would be very difficult for a judge to assess the experience of the skipper and the crew in a storm at sea. Under the Maritime Transport Act, 1994, the skipper was responsible for the safety of the crew.
"I think it is just one of those tough-luck stories."
He said there were no rules about who should set off an emergency beacon and when.
Mr Heritage was the only experienced sailor on the yacht and Mr Stewart said that raised another interesting question - who was best qualified to assess the risk?
"There are just so many 'what-ifs' that would make it very difficult for the court to find any particular liability on the part of any crew member who would no doubt have had a genuine fear for their safety."
- NZPA
