Stearns v. Hooper

Paterson, J. On the thirtieth day of December, 1878, the schooner Alice, then owned by the defendants, arrived at the port of Santa Barbara,-and made fast to plaintiff’s wharf for the purpose of discharging her cargo. While the crew were engaged in transferring the cargo of lumber to the wharf, plaintiff notified the master of the schooner that in his (plaintiff’s) opinion a heavy gale would soon arise, and that he (said master) should before night cast off the lines and fasts by which [342]the vessel was attached to the wharf, and haul her up to a certain buoy, which he, the plaintiff, had. placed at about one hundred fathoms from the end of the wharf, and make her fast thereto. Early in the afternoon of that day, and after a part of the cargo of lumber had been discharged, the lines holding the schooner to the wharf were thrown off, and she was hauled out toward the buoy, about thirty-five fathoms from where she had been lying at the wharf. A nine-inch hawser was then run out to the buoy. As the storm increased the crew hauled in on the line until the vessel came within fifty fathoms of the buoy. The master dropped the port anchor at the time he made fast to the mooring buoy, but did not drop the second anchor until the vessel had dragged well in toward the wharf. The vessel dragged both the mooring buoy and the anchor, until about seven o’clock in the evening of the 31st of December, when a heavy breeze struck her and drove her into the wharf, causing the injury for which plaintiff claims damages in the sum of five thousand dollars.

It is claimed by appellant, first, “that if the said master of said schooner had pulled up to and made fast said schooner to said buoy in a proper, careful, and skillful manner, and in a proper position with reference to the wind and sea, all danger of said vessel drifting against or striking said wharf by reason of a heavy gale and sea which arose in the afternoon of said 30th of December might have been by him then and there avoided ”; and that if he had let the second anchor go when he found his vessel was dragging, the accident would have been averted; second, that the accident might have been easily avoided by casting out the lines and putting out to sea when he found the vessel dragging in toward the wharf; third, that the master was guilty of negligence in not calling upon the steamship Ancon, then lying at the wharf, to tow the schooner out to sea.

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