A wooden sailboat owned by the Sea Scout Ship Viking sailing club, part of the San Francisco Sea Scouts organization, capsized in San Francisco Bay, not once but twice. The vessel, part of the San Francisco Bay Master Mariners Regatta, lost its rudder control. the sailors were able to right it on their own. Not a matter of negligence, presumably the club had checked the vessel's operating and navigation systems thoroughly. It is a matter of unseaworthiness though. The general maritime law Doctrine of Seaworthiness , not negligence is the original tort theory applicable to failure of engines, gear, tackle and appurtenances. The Doctrine originated in England in the Merchants' Shipping Act of 1876 and was recognized by the Supreme Court in its decision in The Oceola, 189 U.S. 158. There is no need to prove notice and the condition can be transitory, such as a slippery deck. Mitchell v. Trawler Racer, Inc., 362 U.S. 539, 545, 80 S. Ct. 926, 930 (1960).