Here’s the scenario:
You are rafting down a popular whitewater river. It’s a private trip–you’re on your own raft. You see a raft paddle by the side of the river. You pick it up. The words “Whitewater Adventures” are burned into the paddle blade. You know that Whitewater Adventures is one of the outfitters that regularly runs commercial raft trips on that section of river.
Are you legally entitled to keep the paddle? Why or why not?
Aside from the possibility of a salvage fee, you have no right to the paddle. Whether the laws of salvage apply to paddles on rivers, I don’t know.
Think of it this way: if you came across a car with the keys in it, would that entitle you t keep it?
As part of Laurentian University’s Outdoor Adventure Leadership Program, my senior students ran the Kipawa River in north-western Québec in kayaks using paddles borrowed from the Sudbury Canoe Club. SCC was emblazoned on the paddles.
One year a student lost one of the paddles. The next year, while I was teaching for the Ontario Wild Water Affiliation in southern Ontario, I came across the paddle. The OWWA’s Gerry Bedard told me that he had come upon it, and told me of the places it had been in the previous year. I said thanks, and started to walk off with it. He grabbed it, and a tug of war ensued, with me saying that it was the Sudbury Canoe Club’s paddle, and with Gerry saying that it was finders keepers. I outweighed Gerry, so I ended up with the paddle.
A few years later, where the paddle was lost and later found, the River Og spanked Gerry severely for his presumption. (Most sadly, he was deafened him in one ear.)
So let this be a lesson to you, grasshopper. If you keep someone else’s paddle, Og of the River will give you your comeuppance.
Geez, Muffin, it wasn’t me!! Did you really think I’d risk the wrath of the river gods just so I could keep a crappy $21 Carlisle paddle? I’m actually kind of upset that you jumped to that conclusion.
This weekend, a member of our group, let’s call him Jim, found a paddle on the Lower Yough labeled with the name of one of the local outfitters. He chucked it to my husband, who was in the raft, and told him to take it down river. When we got back to Ohiopyle, my husband was very surprised to see Jim put it in his truck, and said that he was going to keep it. So, my husband took it, and walked it over to the outfitter and gave it back.
Jim was really pissed off at my husband. While I’m not sure that taking out of Jim’s truck was okay, I’m absolutely sure that giving it back to the outfitter was the right thing to do. But Jim felt that it was okay for him to take the paddle. And we were astonished to find out that other members of our group thought it was okay, and they even told us that they had a variety of outfitters’ paddles in their possession. Among the rationales they offered:
–Finders Keepers
–If I didn’t take it, someone else would have.
–It’s okay to take it because it’s a company. It would be different if it were an individual.
–The companies assume a certain amount of equipment loss per year, so they won’t miss it.
As I said, I was astonished. To me, keeping the paddle would have been morally and ethically wrong–unquestionably. Apparently, these folks feel differently. When I told them that keeping the paddle would anger the river gods, they said that they didn’t believe in the river gods! :eek:
Ultimately, they said that regardless of any ethical or moral issues, that the law was on their side. I didn’t think so. They said that maritime law basically said “finders keepers.” I said that I didn’t think that maritime law said that, but they insisted that it did. So, I said I’d find out.
My apologies for besmirching your reputation.
I don’t know if maritime law would apply to a paddle on a river, but even if it did, all salvage rights amount to is essentially a lien. The owner of the vessel remains the owner, but will have to pay the cost of the vessel being rescued, with the amount based on the value of the vessel and the effort and risk taken to rescue it. The person salvaging the vessel has no right to assume title unless there has been a judgment based on the maritime lien. If recall correctly (don’t quote me on this), unless a salvage fee can be negotiated, the vessel must be turned over to a public authority (I believe a marshall in the US, but again don’t quote me), after which the judgment on the lien is pursued through the courts. Here is a good overview of how salvage works concerning pleasure boats: http://www.safesea.com/boating_info/salvage/anderson/anderson_main.html
In other words, when you ditch your car, you have to pay the tow truck bill, but you still own your car. With marine salvage, a bonus is added on top of the towing bill to consider the risk taken by the rescuers.
Jim and his cronies might wish to read up on the tort of conversion, for that’s what they are doing: http://dictionary.law.com/definition2.asp?selected=346&bold=conversion||
If they don’t believe in River Ogs, then they must not run anything that serious.
Happy paddling! If you and your hubby ever find yourselves in northwestern Ontario, drop me a line and we can go for a paddle. 