Linda Hurlburt says that when she and her husband bought their waterfront property on Mannion Bay in 1990, they were sure they had found the most beautiful spot on Bowen Island. The Bay was virtually empty in winter she says, and in fact, she did not think it was possible for a boat to remain moored there through the winter with the cutting South East winds. However since moving back to their home a year ago after a decade of being back and forth, Hurleburt says Mannion Bay is a problem area. Like other waterfront property owners in the area, she says she’s getting impatient to see some effective solutions to prevent the long-term stay of vessels that are often uncared for, and often end up either on the beach or at the bottom of the bay.
Looking out off her balcony, Hurlburt points out different boats and how long they’ve been there, or to spots where boats used to be, and tells stories about sinkings and boats washed ashore.
“Just before the election, I looked out and a large, mastless boat called the Barra, which had been there for a long time, was suddenly gone,” Hurlburt says. “On November 17, I watched a small sailboat sink right in front of my neighbour’s house. It had belonged to them, but it seems they traded it to their roofer so when I called them to say it was sinking, they told me it wasn’t theirs any more. Then, last Friday I saw the Helen Kate, a 32 foot boat, drifting across the Bay. Now all you can see of it is the mast, sticking out right in front of Bruce Russell’s place.”
Hurlburt says as a boater herself, she knows how much commitment and money is required to keep a vessel afloat. As a waterfront property owner, she is a strong supporter of The Friends of Mannion Bay, of which Bruce Russell is the defacto leader. She has given money to the group in order to move forward efforts to clean-up the Bay.
“I think the plan put forward last year by Bonny Brokenshire (Senior Bylaw Services Officer with the Municipality) is on the right track,” says Hurlburt. “Moving towards a situation where the Bay is zoned for recreational use is definitely what needs to happen, but we need to know that the new council is on board with the proposed five-step plan, so we can keep moving it forward.”
Russell agrees, saying that he’s impressed at the improvements made in the past year, but simply does not want to see those efforts falter.
“It would be criminal to not keep going with this plan,” he says.
The five steps to maintain Mannion Bay, as proposed last may to council by Brokenshire involved obtaining a Licence of Occupation (LOO) for boaters in the Bay, with the nominal fee collected going towards enforcement and maintenance (including dealing with beached wrecks or other sunken vessels). The second option included an amendment to the Municipality’s Land Use Bylaw, which extends 300 metres off the shoreline. Other steps included a strategy for bylaw enforcement, the creation of a social plan, and an environmental study for Mannion Bay.
Brokenshire says that the recommendation made to acquire the Licence of Occupation was stalled, initially because of a turnover in planning staff. Other measures are on hold because of funding, and because the new council needs to go ahead and offer authorization.
“One possibility, is that Mannion Bay will end up falling within a larger shoreline protection plan,” says Bonny. “But we really don’t know where this council will take the issue.”
Meanwhile, councillor Alison Morse continues to work with leaders from other coastal communities and levels of government to deal with the derelict vessels issue. Last week, Morse met with MP John Weston, a representative from the Islands Trust, leaders for the Sea to Sky Corridor, and the Sunshine Coast to discuss solutions.
“The major impediment to solving this is that there are several different government agencies, and several different levels of government involved in the issue,” says MP JohnWeston. “Last week, what we tried to do was come up with a list of specific and achievable goals that could remedy some of the concerns raised about derelict vessels.”
The list they came up with includes:
- the possibility of creating a levy that would be attached to the aquisition of a vessel, thereby creating a pot of money that can be used to deal with the clean-up of abandoned or sunken vessels.
- the creation of a bond to be aquired by boat owners, the bond would kick in to gear if the boat/vessel were left derelict, or sunk
- finding a way to better co-ordinate the information in the three vessel registries (small vessel registry, large vessel registry, pleasure craft registry) so that the owners of abandoned vessels could be more easily found
- the possibility of bringing about criminal liability for people who abandon vessels
- tightening the definitions of “derelict” and “abandoned vessels
Weston says that in last week’s meeting, a working group on the issue was created.
“We’ve got some real momentum going on this,” he says.
