So you're out sailing one afternoon and you come across a million dollar yacht adrift a couple miles offshore. There's no one on board. You look around and notice a section of anchor chain hanging off the bow, a parted chain link dangling at the end, leading you to conclude that the boat went adrift after losing its anchor.

Someone at your marina once told you that you can keep anything you find on the ocean. So you must be the proud new owner of a million dollar boat, right?

Not so fast.

Despite what you may have been told, there is no "finders keepers" rule in maritime law. The legal concept that comes closest is the law of "salvage," which unfortunately is frequently misunderstood by the yachting community.

SALVAGE BASICS

Salvage is the process by which a ship (or its cargo) has been saved from a shipwreck, fire, grounding or any other loss or misfortune. This would include finding a boat that's adrift or abandoned and towing it back to port.

Unfortunately, the legal definition of "towing" a boat is not as clear as it sounds. Salvage is frequently confused with towing, since both services are frequently performed by a towing company and both may be rendered to a vessel in peril. Salvage is distinguished, however, by the "no cure, no pay" nature of the services.

During a salvage job, the company or individual who performs the salvage gets paid nothing unless the vessel is successfully recovered. If the company gets paid regardless of their success, the job is a "tow," and the company will get their regular rate for towing services. Even if the salvage is done successfully, salvage operations do not involve a pre–determined amount for the salvage fee. The myth that a person who saves a vessel from peril is awarded title to the vessel probably stems from all of this legal ambiguity.

Upon the completion of a successful salvage, where there was no pre–determined fee, a salvage company will typically enter into a negotiation with the vessel's insurance company. Those negotiations will consider a series of six factors in connection with the salvage operation: The labor expended in rendering the salvage service; the promptness, skill, and energy displayed in rendering the service and saving the vessel; the value of the towing vessels and other property employed in rendering the service, and the danger to which such property was exposed; the risk involved in securing the vessel from impending peril; the value of the vessel saved; and the degree of danger from which the vessel was rescued. Courts have also added a seventh factor in cases where a significant risk of pollution may exist.

The calculation of a salvage award will determine an amount that is a percentage of the current post–salvage value of the boat. If the case involves a quick tow, off a sandy beach with no surf, the award may be in the neighborhood of five to 10 percent of the value of the boat. Hooking up an abandoned boat and towing it back to port would probably qualify for a higher percentage, since the degree of danger for the rescue vessel would be a little higher.

Higher amounts are awarded under more stressful circumstances. A strong onshore wind on an exposed rocky point, where people are risking their lives, will lead to a very high award. Regardless, awards that exceed 60 to 70 percent of the vessel's value are extremely rare, and an award will never reach 100 percent of the boat's value. Unfortunately, the process does not involve a clear and objective calculation, and as a result, salvage claims frequently end up in court.

COMPENSATION, NOT WINDFALL

This is not just an academic discussion. Boats encounter significant risk every time they leave the dock, and there is always a risk of sinking, even when tied to the dock. It may be rare to find a million dollar yacht adrift offshore, but people find unmanned dinghies and other small boats all the time. A passing boater who helps to save a boat in peril, whether adrift on a calm sea or being driven onto a lee shore, is entitled to be fairly compensated for their efforts. "Fair" compensation, however, should not amount to a windfall.

The fate of Peter Halmos 158–foot yacht Legacy has been the subject of many stories since Hurricane Wilma pushed the vessel aground two years ago on a federally protected reef near Key West. Halmos has spent years working with engineers and salvage companies to float the boat back out to sea. During that time he's lived aboard, protecting his yacht and its belonging from "modern day thugs," he told Vanity Fair, who have arrived on inflatables with the intention of stripping the ship of valuables.

What's the bottom line? There will never be a circumstance that will allow someone to simply walk away with a boat, even if the boat appears to have been abandoned. "Finders keepers" is not a valid legal principal, except in rare instances when the property has been abandoned for so long that it has been effectively "returned to the state of nature."

This may be possible in the case of an ancient, long–lost shipwreck, but even then, the rules of salvage would be applied if the vessel's owners (or more likely, the modern affiliates of the vessel's insurance company) come forward.