The Perry Setzer

288 F. 209, 1923 A.M.C. 1236, 1923 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1653
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedMarch 3, 1923
DocketNo. 1267
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 288 F. 209 (The Perry Setzer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
The Perry Setzer, 288 F. 209, 1923 A.M.C. 1236, 1923 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1653 (S.D. Fla. 1923).

Opinion

CALL, District Judge.

The schooner Perry Setzer sailed from St. Andrews Bay on December 5, 1920, loaded with lumber,' bound for a South American port. In going to sea she struck bottom twice, at one time pounding heavily on the bottom. At the time of breaking ground she was leaking a little, not more than ordinary wooden vessels. After striking bottom, sounding of the wells showed no increase in leaking. The vessel encountered heavy weather, when the leaks increased, necessitating the continual use of her pumps to keep her clear of water. She was equipped with two steam pumps, one of 7 inch and one of 5 inch. The horse power of the boiler to operate these pumps is not given in the testimony. Under the continued strain, the boiler commenced to leak and the pumps would require repairs, and during the time taken to make these repairs the water would gain s.uch headway that on the 14th of December the master decided to beach the vessel to prevent her sinking. This he did about 5 o’clock on the afternoon of December 14th, a short distance to the north of Nassau Inlet, on a bank designated by the St. Johns river pilots as the “breakers,” some mile or mile and a quarter from the beach line, where she lay during that night. The wind was blowing a light breeze from the westerly; sea smooth. On the morning of the 15th a shrimp boat came alongside, and the master of the vessel gave one of the men a penciled note to the effect that his vessel was water-logged and beached, and asking for tug and lighter. Subsequently, that same morning, two of the pilots came aboard for [211]*211an hour, and returned to Mayport and telephoned the position of the schooner to the office of libelants.

The libelants’ manager went to Mayport in an automobile and boarded the Volunteer, a tugboat owned by libelants, and went to the schooner’s assistance, arriving about 12 o’clock of the 15th; went alongside, and passed her hawser, which was made fast to the schooner’s quarter. She pulled for about an hour without effect. She then went to the port side of the schooner and attached her steam hose to the schooner’s pumps and commenced pumping, and continued this service until about 10:45 that night, when the schooner was floated. At about 2 o’clock that afternoon the Three Friends arrived at the schooner, and, going on the starboard side, rigged a steam syphon and pumped water from the vessel until 7 or 8 o’clock that night, when she took out the syphon and ran a 10-inch hawser to the schooner’s quarter; ran out her anchor and dropped back, making the chain cable of her anchor fast to her steam winch, so as to add the pull of the steam winch to the pull of her propeller in going ahead. At about 9 o’clock the Three Friends commenced pulling ahead at full speed, at the same time working her steam winch, while the Volunteer shoved with what steam she could spare from the pumps. This continued until about 10:45 p. m. when the vessel came off for a short distance, and then, fetching up for a few minutes, came off and was towed into deep water.

On account of the vessel having so much water in her, it was found necessary to make the Volunteer fast to her quarter in order to steer her, while the Three Friends towed ahead. In this way the schooner was brought to St. Johns bar, about 6 miles, and up the river to Mayport, where she was anchored about 2 o’clock on the morning of the 16th, and remained anchored until about 8 or 9 o’clock, when with both tugs alongside she was towed up the river and anchored on the south side of the river opposite Commodores Point. This occurred about 1 o’clock in the afternoon of the 16th. The master of the vessel then went ashore on one of the tugs, presumably to make arrangements for procuring gasoline pumps to clear his vessel of water and to have a survey of the vessel made for the underwriters. No pumping had been done aboard the schooner since the Volunteer had disconnected her steam hose from the pumps of the schooner. After the vessel had been anchored, the tide fell, and the stern of the schooner came in contact with something on the bottom, and the bow was submerged, necessitating that the forecastle and galley be vacated. By this submergence much of the' ship’s stores, consisting of foods, etc., were destroyed. Subsequently the vessel was pumped out and removed to the docks at Commodores Point, where the cargo was unloaded, and the vessel put upon dry dock and repaired. The cargo was reloaded and vessel proceeded on her voyage.

The Volunteer was about 85 feet long, with engines of 350 horse power. The Three Friends was larger, with 500 H. P. engines, and operated by libelants under charter, at $40 per day; the libelants paying for stores, crew, etc. The Perry Setzer was a four-mast schooner of some 1,800 tons dead weight burden, and loaded with 830,000 feet of lumber. No values of the two tugs were shown in the evi[212]*212dence. The value of the schooner was about $25,000, and the value of the, cargo about $25,000, in its condition when brought to Jacksonville. The testimony shows the value of the schooner in a seaworthy condition at between $30,000 and $35,000, but I think, considering her condition, water-logged, leaking, some of her planks started, and caulking virtually gone on some of her seams, the value above fixed is fair. The effect of the grounding of the stern when at anchor off Commodores Point was to shove the rudder stock up through the rudder well, breaking the planks covering same, and doing some damage tb the deck planks surrounding the well, shoving up the fastenings holding the rudder in place, and necessitating the replacement with a new rudder.

The claimant filed a cross-libel, alleging negligence on the part of the salvors in anchoring the schooner in the position in which she was anchored, and claiming damages resulting from such negligence, to wit, the damage to the rudder and loss of stores resulting from such negligence. The question, therefore, under the cross-libel, is: Was Capt. Spaulding, who directed the anchoring of the schooner, negligent in selecting the location of such anchorage? It is evident from the testimony that this location was that usually and ordinarily used by vessels lying at .anchor in the harbor. The schooner was water-logged, and must have been drawing considerably more water than when she left St. Andrews Bay, which was 21 feet forward and 21.8 feet aft. The plat from the engineer’s office shows the water in the location where the schooner was anchored outside the channel to have varied from 31.8 to 21.5 feet in depth. While the anchorage was selected by Capt. Spaulding, I am impressed by the testimony that the master of the schooner desired that his vessel should be anchored rather than put on a mud flat, as suggested, and that the captain acted in compliance with the wishes of the master, who evidently intended and expected to make arrangements for pumps to keep his vessel clear of water. Under the testimony I do not think the damage which may have resulted to the schooner from the stern going aground can be attributable to any negligence by the salvors in selection of the place of anchorage. The cross-libel will therefore be dismissed.

The South American Shipping Company filed its claim to the cargo of lumber and its answer to the libel herein, whereby it sought to have any salvage allowed in this case assessed against the schooner, and to relieve the cargo from payment of any part of same because the vessel was unseaworthy at the time she broke ground for the voyage. The unseaworthiness is alleged in the condition of the boiler and pumps of the schooner.

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Bluebook (online)
288 F. 209, 1923 A.M.C. 1236, 1923 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1653, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/the-perry-setzer-flsd-1923.