As storm after storm battered the shores of Sidney, a 45-foot abandoned boat became a growing concern for residents, but despite the mounting problem, action was slow to come.
That is, until the community decided enough was enough.
The boat had been anchored off Lochside Drive for months, sitting idle in the waters. But in early November, a storm pushed the vessel onto the rocky shores of Tulista Park.
The vessel had broken free from its mooring buoy and crashed onto the park’s waterfront, leaving pieces of wreckage scattered along the shore.
The boat had first caught the attention of Sidney residents in October, prompting a post on the local Facebook group This is Sidney on November 4th.
The post inquired about the abandoned boat, leading to quick responses from locals who identified the vessel’s owner as a young man from Mexico.
What followed was a determined response from local residents who, frustrated by the lack of official action, took matters into their own hands.
On Saturday November 16th, despite the rough weather, volunteers gathered at the park to begin cleaning up the debris left behind by the wrecked boat.
According to community members, the boat’s owner had been unable to afford moorage and had launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for its removal. The campaign, which began on October 21st, raised just $375 of the estimated $65,000 needed to remove the wreck.
“Ayuda mi barco se estrello en las rocas y perdi todo” (Help, my boat crashed on the rocks and I lost everything),” read the GoFundMe. Despite the owner’s efforts, the boat remained in place, subject to the storms and the harsh environment.
As weeks passed, frustration mounted among locals who felt that no one was taking responsibility for the wreck. That’s when Sidney resident Clay Frith stepped up.
He turned to social media, calling for volunteers to help remove parts of the boat themselves. The Facebook group quickly mobilized, with concerned residents eager to pitch in.
Some residents contacted local authorities, seeking clarity on whose responsibility it was to remove the vessel. Early responses were tentative, with no clear answers on jurisdiction. However, on November 14th, the Town of Sidney issued a public update, announcing that the Canadian Coast Guard had assumed responsibility for removing the vessel and any debris.
But by then, the boat had already been battered by two windstorms, breaking it into pieces. Some parts of the vessel, including its batteries and possibly the fuel tank, were still in the water, posing a risk to the local ecosystem.
Aware of the environmental impact, Frith took further action. On November 16th, he began pulling debris from the water, encouraging others to join him in the cleanup effort.
Photos from the cleanup show more than a dozen people, including officers from the Sidney/North Saanich RCMP, working together to remove pieces of the boat.
The group initially planned to dump the debris in the town work yard, but town officials stopped them, citing potential legal concerns. Undeterred, the group continued their work, and the following day, more volunteers showed up to help.
On Sunday, November 17th, there was an even larger turnout, with at least 30 people showing up, including one resident with a large truck to help transport the debris. The community’s efforts culminated in the removal of nearly eight tonnes of wreckage, which was carefully sorted and disposed of.
A source close to the cleanup effort told Victoria Buzz that the Town of Sidney eventually provided a dumping bin for the volunteers, ensuring that there was a designated spot for all the debris.
By the end of the weekend, most of the wreckage had been cleared, with only the bottom of the hull, engine, drive shaft, and propeller remaining in the water.
Some volunteers hoped that the upcoming bomb cyclone would cause further damage to the remaining parts, making it easier to remove them from the water.
Thanks to the action of the Sidney community, what had started as a frustrating and neglected situation became a powerful example of how residents can band together to protect their local environment.
