Owner of Derelict Boat That Crashed Into Jetty Arrested
ORANGE BEACH Ala.
January 11, 2025
By Rick McCann
Accidents happen they say and sometimes you just can’t help it.
You’re driving down the road, hit something in the road and pop a tire and have no spare.
So, what do you? You pull over, park the car and call for help, or you may just get out and start walking.
On the water, while driving a boat, the same thing might happen. The engine conks out, or the boat becomes inoperable, and you anchor it, and jump on board a passing boat and make it back to land.
We all know, or should know, that we’re supposed to return to the broken-down vehicle or boat and get it fixed or towed away and not leave it there for days, weeks or months.
In Alabama as in many states, leaving a boat adrift or letting it sit on land for an extended period is known as having a derelict vessel and that’s illegal as an area vessel owner recently found out.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency arrested 52-year-old James Houston Hamrac III this week in connection with a boat that many of us have seen sitting at the Alabama Point area for months.
The derelict boat had crashed into the jetty at Alabama Point in August 2024 and just sat there, unrecovered, for months until it was removed by authorities.
Hamrac Faces a misdemeanor charge of having a derelict class 1 or 2 vessel.
Hamrac was released from the Baldwin County Jail on Friday afternoon but faces a court appearance in the upcoming weeks.
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