The 24-foot fibreglass sailboat Von Buoyage might have a clever name but now that it’s sitting on the bottom of Cadboro Bay, locals are wondering where the owner is to claim it (the boat and its name, that is).
It sunk about five days ago said Saanich’s Jerry Donaldson, who walks the beach there twice a day with his dog.
“You can see the hull at low tide and it’s seemingly abandoned and in a legislative lacuna [void] where no one will take responsibility for it,” said Donaldson, a member of the Cadboro Bay Dead Boats Society.
The boat was tied to a mooring with an unregistered phone number and is on the Oak Bay side of Cadboro Bay.
| The fibreglass sailboat Von Buoyage, seen floating, is currently on the bottom of Cadboro Bay and concerned mariners and residents of the area have been unable to contact the boat owner. (Photo courtesy of Cadboro Bay Dead Boats Society) |
READ MORE: Dead Boats Society moving toward 100 wreckages removed from Salish Sea
Generally, by this time of year there have been a few boats blow onto the shores of Cadboro Bay.
However, the mighty southeasterly winds that usually hit here in fall have been non-present to date, Donaldson noted.
Donaldson said how this boat sunk is a mystery and it’s quickly going from a viable boat to derelict.
His view is that the municipality should deal with it. Or, boats should have a $2,000 fee attached which can be used to fish them back out of the water, or off beaches, when owners abandon them.
As it stands, the boat will likely be another rescue for John Roe of the Veins of Life Society, who has led the removal of 60 boats from the Salish Sea in the past few years. Roe is currently on a mission to remove 100 boats from the Salish Sea.
The process involves a transfer of ownership through the Receiver of Wrecks with Transport Canada and can take at least a month.