A Petition For Justice

Regular readers will recall our previous posts on the fate of the famous Sausalito-based schooner Lord Jim. Since hitting an unmarked rock off the coast of Brazil in 2007, she and her owners, Holger Kreuzhage and Tracy Brown, have endured an ordeal so complex and twisted that it sounds more like the plot for a novel than reality. 

In a nutshell, after laboriously repairing the damaged hull in a remote Brazilian boatyard, the owners were pressured by an extortion attempt before they would be allowed to launch. The fight ended up in court, where Lord Jim‘s stewards won — both the original case and several appeals. But with no enforcement of the court orders, the boat and her owners remain in a hellish limbo. Needless to say, Holger and Tracy are not the sort of sailors who would give up easily. Already this fight has gone on for several years. But with each passing month, the wooden hull of the 1936 classic — to which they have no easy access — deteriorates further.

The couple is currently placing high hopes that a widely circulating petition, facilitated by the Avaaz organization, could bring the influence of top government officials to bear on the problem. If you choose to participate in the petition process, these former Bay Area sailors will greatly appreciate your support. For a detailed account of the backstory, check out Holger’s recent post here.