Brashear

(dissenting).

Brashear’s death was not caused by any unseaworthiness of appellee’s dredge nor by any negligence of its master or crew. The proximate and sole cause of Brashear’s death was his own act in jumping overboard and drowning himself. The trial court so found and could not, consistently with the evidence, have found otherwise.

The decree should be affirmed.

This is a proceeding brought by Union Dredging Company, a California corporation, the owner of the dredger Carson, under the limitation of liability act, 46 U. *763 S.C.A. § 183. The corporation petitions for exoneration from liability for the drowning on May 17, 1934, of one of its firemen, Earl Brashear, who had become violently insane several hours before he jumped overboard and was insane at the time of the drowning. In the alternative, the petition seeks limitation of liability to the value of the dredge and her freight pending for the dredging voyage on San Francisco Bay, on which she was engaged at the time of the drowning of the insane man. A reference for the valuation of the res in limitation was had, the value determined and a stipulation filed for its amount. On publication and service of the monition, the only claims filed were by the deceased’s wife and children.

The appeal is a trial de novo. The facts on which we base our decision are undisputed. The dredger Carson in the month of May, 1934, was afloat on San Francisco Bay, opposite Hamilton Field, engaged in deepening a channel to provide readier access to Hamilton Field. About 7 p. m. of the evening of May 16,…