A mishap at Jacksonville Beach led to U.S. District Judge William McRae Jr. rendering the opinion that a surfboard should be held subject to admiralty laws.
On July 30, 1964, a surfboard ridden by Dean Cowan struck and injured Roland Davis, who was swimming in the surf.
Davis filed suit against Cowan and the City of Jacksonville Beach, asking for damages of $11,000.
Cowan and the city filed a motion for dismissal, claiming the accident did not take place in navigable waters of the United States and therefore federal maritime laws could not apply.
McRae disagreed.
“It is not necessary to reach the novel question whether a surfboard is a vessel. The weight of authority in this country holds that any tort (damage to a person or property) ... occurring on the high seas or navigable water is within admiralty jurisdiction,” he said.
“A surfboard, by its very nature, operates almost exclusively on the high seas and navigable waters and, just like a small canoe or a raft, potentially can interfere with trade or commerce. For this reason, admiralty should develop the rules for liability relating to a surfboard’s operation,” McRae added.
He denied the motion for a judgment that the court was without jurisdiction in the case.
• A keel-laying ceremony was held at Aerojet-General Shipyards for the Fairweather, a $4 million hydrographic ship.
The 231-foot vessel was scheduled for completion in early 1967. It would be used to chart U.S. coastal waters to help provide safe navigation for commercial ships and pleasure boats.
It was the second of three survey ships to be built at the shipyard for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey and the Environmental Science Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Construction began in April on the Mount Mitchell; the keel for the Mount Ranier was scheduled to be laid Jan. 15, said C.I. Stephens, president of Jacksonville Shipyards, subcontractor for the three projects.
• Guy Botts, president and CEO of Barnett First National Bank, was elected president of the Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce. He would succeed Claude Yates on Jan. 1.
Gulf Life Insurance Co. Vice President James McAfee was named to the newly created post of senior vice president.
• The Duval County Budget Commission approved Nov. 22 a $49 million spending plan for the county’s public schools, but 15 high schools had a long way to go to again be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
The schools lost accreditation in 1964 over quality of education and facilities, leaving graduates with diplomas that weren’t accepted by colleges for admission.
In addition to hiring more certified teachers, the school board was recruiting about 500 custodians, maids, plumbers, electricians, aides for guidance counselors and clerks for administrative offices and libraries.
The new hires would make more money, as would the current civil service employees in the schools.
Salary increases averaging 10 percent were approved for non-instructional personnel, said Orville Calhoun, school system business affairs director.
Affected employees included cafeteria workers, textbook clerks, maintenance employees, keypunch and switchboard operators, and accountants.
Civil Service Board Chair Carl Taylor said the school system’s civil service employees had not received a raise in more than five years, although other county civil service employees were granted two 5 percent increases in that time. The raises for 2,170 employees would total $272,166.50 annually.
• More than 34,000 people in nine counties in Northeast Florida registered for voluntary benefits through Medicare, the new federal health care plan that would start in July 1966.
R.R. Donaldson, manager of the Jacksonville district Social Security Office, said all 40,000 Social Security recipients in the area were automatically enrolled in the Medicare Plan A hospitalization benefits at no cost.
The voluntary phase, Plan B, would cover doctor’s bills, but people electing to join that plan would pay $3 per month, matched by $3 from the federal government, for a total monthly premium of $6.
Most applicants registered at the district office at 400 W. Ashley St. Others, some more than 100 years old, could not make the trip and Social Security personnel would visit them in their homes, Donaldson said.
• The aircraft carrier Saratoga left Mayport Naval Station for its first operational voyage since undergoing a $3 million overhaul.
The vessel and its crew were scheduled for two weeks of routine carrier qualification exercises in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida before returning to Mayport, scheduled for Dec. 18.
The carrier was overhauled at its berth at Mayport, with the contracts going to local shipyards and subcontractors.
The ship’s hangar and flight decks were modernized and its engineering, catapult and arresting gear systems were upgraded.
It was the first time the Navy allowed an aircraft carrier to be reworked at its home port instead of being sent to a Navy yard for the extensive repairs.
The decision to leave the 78,000-ton warship at its home port allowed the 2,500-man crew to remain home with their families and friends during the three-month project.
The Navy pointed out that in addition to the $3 million paid to local contractors, repairing the Saratoga at Mayport also meant the ship’s payroll of $2 million a month remained in the area.
• Florida was in the grip of a cold snap, with the temperature in Jacksonville falling to 31 degrees.
North Miami reported a low of 47 and it was a chilly 62 in Key West.
The state’s citrus farmers reported no crop damage and actually welcomed the cool weather.
“It will help color the fruit and make it more attractive to the Christmas trade,” said Dale Carlton, head of the grower division of the Florida Citrus Mutual at Lakeland.
• The Astro-Gators and Jacksonville Astronomy Club were planning to conduct classes on how to make reflecting and refracting telescopes.
The sessions would be conducted at the Jacksonville Children’s Museum at 1801 Riverside Ave.