While it was still in one piece, a Britannia Beach resident wondered why a seemingly abandoned sailboat was left to smash up against the rocks for days, ultimately sinking into the briny depths of the Pacific Ocean late Thursday afternoon.
Jonathan Mahec first saw the ship floating aimlessly over the weekend, but wasn’t sure precisely when it broke free from the buoy it was previously tied to. It didn’t appear to be overly damaged, he said.
"It had a bit of water in the back of it, maybe it was rain," Mahec told CTV News Vancouver over the phone from Britannia Beach Thursday. "It was making noise…now it’s on the rocks, it’s going to break."
The 39-year-old said he didn’t try to get into the boat for fear of trespassing on someone’s property, and instead called the Coast Guard, which asked him to send video of the ship via email - but has not heard back since.
"I sent the video, I never got any answers," he said. "The next day, one of our neighbours said it’s in the bay now and it’s sunk."
Fisheries and Oceans Canada confirmed they are looking into the scuppered vessel now. On Friday, a spokesperson told CTV News Vancouver that the Coast Guard's Environmental Response program had assessed the situation and "determined that the sailboat posed a minimal risk for marine pollution."
The vessel has been added to the Coast Guard's Vessel of Concern inventory for further assessment and monitoring, the spokesperson said in an email.
Mahec said the boat was floating along the cliff-side, about 20 feet away from the buoy to which it was originally tied. He said the sailboat is about 25 feet long, and was worried about fuel from the outboard motor polluting the water.
"It’s not like a big ship, but this is annoying and it seems like nobody really cares, and someone is going to have to clean up the mess," said Mahec.
