Another pleasure boat has sunk and been abandoned in the waters of Deep Bay at Sandy Beach in Snug Cove. The boat sank not far from shore about two weeks ago. Though the Undercurrent was unable to discover with certainty the name of the owner, indications are that the boat is not the property of a Bowen resident.
An unspecified number of boats have sunk or been left abandoned there in recent years; there is no official count but from this reporter witnessing sunken boats and anecdotal word, it may be a dozen or more. Deep Bay is in the jurisdiction of the federal government but there has not been any action from the federal government with regard to boats, garbage or debris on Sandy Beach, or the waters of Deep Bay.
Citizens in the area and others got together and had a clean-up of the beach and waters last April and divers, including Amber Spitkovski and Adam Taylor, have given their time to bring up debris from the ocean floor.
One sunken boat that remains in shallow waters near Sandy Beach has been there approximately five years. That boat is often hidden by the tide and could pose a danger to anyone jumping off their boat into the water.
There are live-aboards at Sandy Beach and among the boats in the water is a large barge which has been there for about one year and which at different times has had people living on it. It has a van and a front-end loader resting on its deck and has been beached at least twice.
The municipality is on record as saying they have applied through federal channels to obtain jurisdiction. Past councillor David Wrinch is familiar with trying to get the federal government to do something about Deep Bay and commented on the time it may take to get the feds to give over jurisdiction.
"I wouldn't count on it in the next couple or three years," Wrinch said.
