Water sports lawyer
On the water two rulebooks apply at the same time
The Vlaamse Yachting Federatie and Wallonie Nautique organise the clubs, the training and the races. The Koninklijke Belgische Zeilbond is the national federation and the counterpart of World Sailing. For open water swimming the Belgische Zwembond is the competent federation. We assist sailors, swimmers, clubs, marinas, organisers and boat owners.
Anyone sailing on Belgian water also falls under rules that have nothing to do with sport. The shipping regulations, the police rules of the waterway authority and the port rules of Ostend, Nieuwpoort or Zeebrugge apply during a race as well. After a collision the racing rules of World Sailing, the shipping regulations and ordinary liability law can therefore run side by side. We separate those layers and establish which body decides.
What we do in water sports
These are the files that reach our desk most often.
Boat ownership, registration and sale
We guide the purchase and the sale of a boat: the agreement, the survey, the flag document and the registration, the hidden defects and the guarantee of the yard. We also settle joint ownership when several sailors buy a boat together.
Charter and hire
A charter agreement decides who skippers the boat, who carries the deposit and who pays for damage or a cancellation. We draft those contracts for owners and clubs, we review them for charterers, and we run the dispute after a damaged or detained boat.
Liability of the race organiser
An organiser sets the course, decides on postponement and abandonment in heavy weather and deploys the support boats. We look at the sailing instructions, the entry forms and the insurance, and we defend or claim when damage occurs during a race.
Safety, shipping and port rules
The certificate requirement, the equipment on board, the rules of the waterway authority and the marina rulebook decide what is allowed. We assist you after an inspection, a report by the authorities or a refused berth, and we advise clubs on their own rules.
Protest and the race jury
A protest after a collision, a penalty for an error at the mark or a request for redress runs before the jury of the event, under the Racing Rules of Sailing of World Sailing. We prepare the protest, assist you at the hearing and run the appeal before the federation.
Open water, selection and discipline
Open water swimming follows the rules of the Belgische Zwembond on safety, escort and water temperature. We run files on selection, on a cancelled event and on discipline, and we assist you in an anti-doping procedure.
How a water sports lawyer runs your file
Who decides
A racing incident goes to the jury of the event, then to the national federation and finally to World Sailing or the CAS. Damage to a boat or to a person is a matter for the ordinary court or for the insurers. Both tracks can run at the same time.
The deadlines
A protest has to be filed shortly after the finish, usually inside the time window in the sailing instructions. An appeal to the federation runs just as short. Damage claims follow the ordinary limitation periods, but your policy often imposes a much faster notification.
What you do first
Note the position, the time, the wind and the boats involved while everything is fresh. Ask for the details of witnesses and keep the tracking data. Report the claim to your insurer within the period set by the policy and call us with the date of the incident.
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