Claims Happen!

The unhappy gentleman on the left is an experienced sailor.  He was delivering this boat for a friend.  He was motoring at night heading down the Delaware river.  He was attempting to stay out of the main shipping channel to avoid commercial traffic.  You can see the lighted channel marker in the background.  He made the reasonable assumption that the light marked the side of the navigable channel.  At high tide, all of the pilings are completely submerged.  The time of loss was at high tide.  Damage to the boat was modest.  The cost of salvage was not.  Three attempts, ultimately including the use of divers and air bags were needed to lift the boat over the the pilings.  Of course the time of loss was at the peak of an extra high tide.