GrumpyOldGuy
Contributor
I'm not a lawyer, don't pretend to be one, even though I watch Law and Order. So I'll leave it to you. You can be the
lawyer for either side and finally be the judge and make the final ruling.
Here is the scenerio:
I was recently on a dive boat. Prior to boarding the Captain made an announcement that since we would be
visiting a little known spot with a real wreck (as opposed to a sanitized artificial one), operating a GPS device would
not be permitted. Any GPS devices found on board would be tossed overboard. Several people turned off their smart phones
and gave them to the captain who secured them in a locked case. As I planned to capture the GPS numbers, I had mine
left on and concealed it in my dry bag. Frankly, I thought the Captain was bluffing.
After coming up from my second dive, The boat began heading back and that is when I noticed my GPS is gone! I
confronted the Captain, who very matter-of-factly denied any knowledge of what may have happened to the device.
I reminded him of this statements prior to boarding about tossing and operating devices overboard. He once again denied
having anything to do with the disappearance of the device.
None of the other passengers admitted to seeing the Captain touch my stuff. After we docked, I called the Police.
I knew this was not a high priority from them, but after 30 minutes, a LEO showed up. He greeted the Captain by name
with a friendly handshake. It was apparent they were acquaintances.
After telling my story, the LEO stated without witnesses, or an admission from the Captain, there was nothing
he could do.
So... What Are My Options? What do you suppose is going to happen?
I will take a crack at it. First, I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for someone who willfully disobeys a request by the captain. I would not do so out of common courtesy and my desire to have a long term relationship with a good boat. I understand the captain would be pissed off, but he could have just erased the coordinates.
I would demand the LEO take a police report. Its not their decision to refuse to document a complaint. It won't go anywhere legally with no witnesses but it will be on record for other actions later.
I would also demand in writing payment for said equipment from the captain.
Next I would ask the credit card company to charge back the boat fee.
Lastly I would post the story on SB and other forums. Having the captain / crew rifle though your gear while submerged will irritate other potential customers because the probably went through the gear of every other diver on the boat. Some good customers are going to get pissed. You might find that this is not the first time this has happened. If others come forward with similar stories on the same boat, then you can the potential to have a good small claims court action.