Re: [Paddlewise] Israeli kayakers rescued in Alaska (USCG video)

Craig Jungers: Most people believe that a vessel needs to be abandoned
before it can be salvaged. This is not the truth. The fine line between
a rescue and a salvage generally has to do with the risk to the vessel,
the damage to the vessel, and the risk to the potential salvor.


Does anyone remember the story of Goetz Hanisch, the guy at Rose Harbour
in the Queen Charlottes?  He told me the tale but I've forgot it after
all these years. This online description tells it well:

A high-handed Parks Canada warden with a chip on his shoulder and an
embarrassing lack of knowledge about salvage law has been branded a
malicious liar by a B.C. Supreme Court judge.
Renee Wissink's pig-headed determination to get the better of Tassilo
Goetz Hanisch, a guide and guest-home operator who lives on the border
of a Queen Charlotte Islands park reserve, has left taxpayers on the
hook for $77,500 in damages after Hanisch won his lawsuit last week.
Wissink hoodwinked an inexperienced RCMP officer into laying a charge of
mischief against Hanisch after the guide saved a Parks Canada inflatable
Zodiac boat from being destroyed in a huge storm on July 26, 1998.
Hanisch has lived in the remote outpost of Rose Harbour, on the southern
tip of Moresby Island, for the past 20 years. He and two neighbours are
the only year-round residents of what used to be a whaling station built
93 years ago.
The three landowners hold title to 68 hectares of land that sits outside
the boundary of the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, which was
created in 1988.
The day of the storm, Hanisch braved 40-knot winds while wading into the
ocean to keep the Parks Canada Zodiac from wrecking on rocks in the
harbour.
He radioed Wissink, who was on board a larger Parks Canada boat also
caught in the storm, to let the warden know he had secured the Zodiac in
a creek and he could get it back the next day when the tide came in.
A few years earlier, Hanisch had salvaged a sinking float plane and knew
the law of the seas, which stated he had a claim for salvage coming.
Wissink, who had a grudge against Hanisch, called the RCMP in Queen
Charlotte City and told them Hanisch was refusing to return the Zodiac
-- a lie.
When Const. Blake Ward arrived at Rose Harbour the next day, he arrested
Hanisch, now 48, on a charge of mischief, relying entirely on Wissink's
story and refusing to listen to a word Hanisch was telling him.
Ward took Hanisch to jail in Queen Charlotte City, 160 kilometres away
and six to nine hours by boat. After a 30-minute interrogation, he
released Hanisch and left him on his own, with no money, to find a way
back home, which took three days.
Twice Hanisch had to make his way to Queen Charlotte for court
appearances that proved unnecessary.
When the case finally came to trial, the Provincial Court judge threw it
out for failing to come even near the threshold for a charge of
mischief.
Hanisch was finally recognized for his heroism in saving the Zodiac when
Parks Canada cut him a $240 cheque in lieu of salvage.
He sued Wissink, Blake and the federal government over his needless
imprisonment.
Ottawa's lawyer at the time clearly erred, too. In their statement of
claim, the defendants not only stuck to the ridiculous claim that they
were acting properly in arresting Hanisch, but also claimed his conduct
in the matter "was reprehensible, criminal, illegal, immoral and
disgraceful."
Hanisch's lawyer, Dan Burnett, demanded a retraction, but none was made.
At the end of the five-day trial in Vancouver last month, lawyer Jack
Wright, who conducted the defence, apologized to Hanisch.
Justice Bruce Harvey awarded Hanisch damages of $77,500 -- $50,000 of
which was awarded as punitive damages for the high-handed conduct of
Wissink and Ward.
The Rose Harbor guide/guest home operator/musician said he was
"surprised" and "thrilled" with the ruling.
"I'm pleased," Hanisch said yesterday in a phone interview from his home
on remote Moresby Island. "I'm surprised as to how high the award is. I
think it is a very good thing. It was not OK what they did."
Hanisch said he's not certain what he'll do with his award, but
suggested that since he saved a Parks Canada vessel, he might return the
money to the sea.
"I'm not certain, but I think that since I saved Parks Canada a vessel
originally, it's going to go towards a vessel of mine."
An emerging guitarist, he also might use it to bolster his musical
career. He's got a CD coming out next week.

The court's decision is also a good story:
http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/Jdb-txt/CA/04/05/2004BCCA0539.htm
***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed
here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire
responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author.
Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************