They amended the rules of salvage in 1989
because of all the ways we pollute our waters and then leave. Before
then, it was just as easy to leave a dangerous situation as it was to
try and save what might be delicate and damaged, since if the salvor didn't manage to save the ship or its cargo they weren't likely to be compensated. A slim chance of success is not usually enough. Terrestrial law is not nearly as poetic on the subject of adventure, but then the sea has always held more romance than the land.
It's hard to say how much we've lost to the waves, all the ships and people and heirlooms, pets and thoughts and plans. I keep having dreams about what may be under the water, moving through my days with holes in my sweaters and a bruise like a hand around my hip, a little bit unraveled and worn. Maybe the rewards for finding what has been lost will be worth all the effort. We've never been ones to stop an adventure just because we're unlikely to succeed before, so there's no real reason to abandon things now. One of these days we'll come back up with treasure or a sea monster, or both, rather than just empty hands and a damaged ecosystem.
It's hard to say how much we've lost to the waves, all the ships and people and heirlooms, pets and thoughts and plans. I keep having dreams about what may be under the water, moving through my days with holes in my sweaters and a bruise like a hand around my hip, a little bit unraveled and worn. Maybe the rewards for finding what has been lost will be worth all the effort. We've never been ones to stop an adventure just because we're unlikely to succeed before, so there's no real reason to abandon things now. One of these days we'll come back up with treasure or a sea monster, or both, rather than just empty hands and a damaged ecosystem.
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