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Cal. HNC § 1138

This is the official text of Cal. HNC § 1138, part of California’s Harbors and Navigation Code — regulates ports, harbors, and boating.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Official statutory text

(a) When cruising offshore or standing out to sea, pilots shall go to the vessel nearest to shore or in the most distress, or incur a penalty of one hundred dollars ($100). For each refusal by a pilot to board a vessel when required, a penalty of one hundred dollars ($100) shall be incurred.

(b) A pilot may be suspended or expelled by the board for a violation of subdivision (a).

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.