By
Lucy Chabot Reed
Capt.
Ian McCombe, who was
fired from his command
of M/Y Lionwind
in May, was not jailed
in relation to a diving
incident in Palau lagoon
earlier this year. An
article in the August
issue indicated
otherwise.
The
Triton reprinted
reports from a newspaper
in the South Pacific
that indicated two crew
members went to prison
for removing artifacts
from a World War II
wreck.
McCombe
was one of five people
charged in March with
myriad infractions,
including grand larceny
and damaging a
historical site, even
though he had not been
diving at the time. The
charge against him was
dismissed on May 23,
according to a copy of a
court record from the
Supreme Court of the
Republic of Palau.
The four
others charged were
Lionwind’s first
mate, the yacht’s bosun/dive
master, an American dive
instructor who lives in
Palau and was certifying
the bosun in a technical
dive course, and the
dive boat driver.
The
yacht’s chef accompanied
the bosun/dive master on
the mixed-gas dives as
his dive buddy, McCombe
said. She took
photographs of the
various wrecks and
artifacts, then talked
about the dives and the
bosun’s actions with
other divers, one of
whom called the
authorities. When police
asked him, the bosun
agreed and produced six
artifacts, including a
porthole, compass and
lanterns. (The police
did not search the
yacht, as reported in
previous stories.)
The
first mate and boat
driver paid fines of
$5,000 and $2,000,
respectively, and gave
evidence for
prosecution, McCombe
said. The bosun was
sentenced to six months
and fined $12,000. The
dive instructor was
sentenced to three
months and fined $5,000.
The chef was not
charged.
"I’m
really sad and upset
about it," said McCombe,
who has been in yachting
35 years. "He [the bosun]
is a really good man, a
good bosun. I regret it,
and I’m sure he does,
too."
Palau
law charges a $1,000
fine for each case of
removing an artifact.
But in a settlement with
the government, the
owner of Lionwind
agreed to pay $40,000
and fire McCombe, the
bosun and first mate.
Although McCombe didn’t
remove any artifacts and
said he hasn’t been
diving this year, he
accepts the firing.
"Palau
is a beautiful place,"
he said. "It’s 7 degrees
north of the equator so
it’s out of the cyclone
belt, and has a
population of about
20,000 with about the
same number of
foreigners – tourist
divers, Asian workers
and Americans.
"There
are a large number of
World War II wrecks
here, including Japanese
Zero fighters," he said.
"There are many bars and
restaurants with
‘artifacts’ from these
wrecks hanging all over
the place. They’re
everywhere; you can buy
them on the street.
"I
didn’t really take it as
seriously as I should
have," he said. "But I’m
the captain. My crew was
breaking the law. I
couldn’t stay there. I
accept that."
Though
it’s not an excuse,
McCombe said he believes
there was more at play
than the crime of taking
artifacts. In the three
months between when the
charges were filed and
the cases were heard in
court, the assistant
attorney general in
Palau and others in her
department were seen and
heard by other yacht
crew and divers in a bar
talking about how she
was going to "bring the
rich American yacht
owner down" and "set an
example," he said.
M/Y
Lionwind is a
158-foot (48m) Feadship
that has been cruising
the South Pacific for
the past four years. In
McCombe’s three-year
tenure onboard, he said
the owner has used the
25-year-old yacht a lot.
"It’s a
beautiful boat," McCombe
said. "And the owner is
a wonderful guy, a real
straight-shooter and one
of the nicest guys you
want to meet. … Things
happen. Stupid things
were done. But this is a
great industry and it’s
a beautiful life."
A local
native man who McCombe
said doesn’t really like
Americans put up bail
for all of them,
including $100,000 each
for McCombe and the
bosun/dive master,
$50,000 for the first
mate and $25,000 for the
boat driver.
"The
people of Palau are
great," he said. "I feel
indebted to this
wonderful person, his
wife and family."
McCombe
has returned to Brisbane
and said he will look
for another yacht that
will keep him in the
Pacific.
"After
25 years in the Med and
Caribbean, I’m home
now," he said. "I love
this part of the world
and really think the
Pacific is the future of
yachting. But, of
course, I’m an employee
and I’ll go wherever the
owner wants to take his
boat."
Contact
Editor Lucy Chabot Reed
at lucy@th-triton.com.
