$2,500 Theft Reward Program nabs thief

Boat/US Magazine, Nov, 2005

As harbor manager for the Salt Spring Harbour Authority in British Columbia, Canada, Bart Terwiel has a lot to think about. Terwiel manages eight public docks around Salt Spring Island with 350 permanent slip holders and over 5,000 transients a year. Whether it's a floatplane running into the docks or simply keeping everyone happy, there's never a dull moment.

When a man who had been on his waiting list for a slip showed up with 32-foot Beneteau, it seemed at first like business as usual--but it turned out to be anything but.

Turwiel is a member of the Harbors Association of British Columbia, a group of harbormasters that share news, knowledge and information. About the same time the man with the sailboat showed up, Terwiel got an alert from the association to be on the lookout for a recently stolen Beneteau 32. The timing was just too coincidental not to follow up.

So when the Beneteau's "owner" was away he checked the vessel's ID number--it matched the stolen vessel's. Upon further inspection, he also noticed the sailboat's name had been ground off and a new one put on. Its hailing port had been changed, too. He notified the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, an arrest was made, and the boat was returned to her owner.

For his efforts, BoatU.S. honored Terwiel with a $2,500 BoatU.S. Theft Reward. The reward is paid to a person providing information resulting in the arrest and conviction of someone stealing or vandalizing a BoatU.S. member's boat or equipment. For more information on the BoatU.S. Theft Reward Program, go to BoatUS.com/membership and click on "Assistance and Protection."