Nanaimo Anchoring Fees !

[Brent Swain]

The ability of anyone to live in any municipality is dependent on their ability to afford to live there, in which the only option may be living aboard.

[hummingway]

Apparently the subject of live aboards is likely to come up at the next conference for BC Municipalities being held in Whistler:
UBCM | 2010 Convention

Ladysmith is complaining about there community of liveaboards - so called dogpatch. According to the Harbour City Star (Sept. 17th issue) they've had some problems with violence and drugs at times along with the jurisdiction issues they present but the real complaint seems to be the negative impression it gives to tourists and the fact they would like to build a tourist marina.

I believe they should meet certain environmental standards (as per sewage disposal etc) and sea worthiness but to suggest that they need to meet standards of appearance is interesting and if you address environmental issues for anchored boats you have to address boats at marinas as well since we all know many are not meeting basic standards.

Ladysmith's acting mayor Councillor Duck (sic) Paterson is quoted as saying "a lot of them are just freeloaders" which is a very loaded statement and makes we wonder if there is some underlying emotional issue at play.

[IdoraKeeper]

OMG, it looks as if Brent was right. It's spreading... what is really behind all of this. What changed?

Todd

[michaelmrc]

dogpatch does have its share of unseaworthy vessels. as a ladysmith liveaboard i agree that several of these boats should be removed. last year during the april storm a trawler in dogpatch sunk taking the small sailboat that was rafted up down with it. the coast guard refloated the trawler but the sailboat still sits on the bottom with the mast sticking out of the water. im all for protecting our freedoms but these vessels are leaking fuel damaging environment etc... as well ive been told by ladysmith police that there are a couple of known thieves that target marinas living out there as well.

[hummingway]

I couldn't agree more that boats that aren't seaworthy shouldn't be endangering the environment and others property. As usual the question becomes, where do you draw the line and who enforcces the regulations? As far as jusisdiction goes it is the RCMP for marine environments I believe.

So ... must have working bilge pumps. I believe that is already a requirement of a boat that is underway. Must have a means of taking sewage to shore or the means of transporting the vessel to waters that flow freely and are far from harbour or beach areas to empty a holding tank. Must have adequate ground tackle (there are some limited requirements for this for vessels under way) if at anchor.

There's a lot of boats out there and you can't single out those who anchor from those who tie up to docks or mooring rings it seems to me.

[michaelmrc]

heres the article from todays harbour city star
Live-aboard life isn't always easy

[Stillraining]

Its the same old story...a few rotten apples spoil the apple barrel...I feel for them.

Whats with cutting a single gals anchor rode?...My old man says scuba gear and brace and bit for the wankers.

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by Stillraining

Its the same old story...a few rotten apples spoil the apple barrel...I feel for them.

Whats with cutting a single gals anchor rode?...My old man says scuba gear and brace and bit for the wankers.

That one really shocked me and she took it really well! The RCMP should be having a chat with a couple of those wankers just to remind them that being that kind of a bonehead has consequences.

[Capt Phil]

Great idea to post the article, Michael... I hope someone (or 2 or 3) from the live aboard communities up there can have a voice at the upcoming Municipal meeting at Whistler. Are you listening, Brent? When the boating community invite someone from shoreside to solve their problems, they end up with rules and regulations that don't fit the situation. Having lived aboard for many years, most of the water communities were self policing in the old days. If there were problems, they got sorted quickly and (usually ) quietly. I've been off the water for about 4 years now and it seems that things are changing and not for the better. Pity! Capt Phil

[Brent Swain]

Does anyone believe that forcing people out of their comfortable floating homes out in the harbour and into the ranks of the homeless in your backyard, will reduce crime and increase security?

[Capt Phil]

Hey Brent... are these floating 'homes' capable of moving, equipped with sanitation facilities and relatively seaworthy in your opinion? Or are they uninhabited, uninhabitable and hazards to navigation, ie., no lights, insufficient ground tackle and have been there for months/years in the same spot? I've had very good friends who lived aboard boats that I certainly would not have lived on, that really lacked a lot of what I would consider the creature comforts that many of have got used to but it worked for them and those living conditions never got in the way of our friendship. It is wrong to force my or your living standards on anyone, at anchor or shoreside but if there is a clear case of hazard in the anchorage, abandonment of a vessel or a danger to the health and wellbeing of neighbours, common sense would dictate that that vessel be moved at the owners or taxpayers expense. Hope you can find a way to vent this issue at the October Municipal meetings at Whistler... cheers, Capt Phil

[michaelmrc]

Capt Phil I would be very interested in finding out more about this whistler conference

[Viking 1]

A few things to consider:

The area in question is one of the more polluted harbours on the coast. Dogpatch sits over top of a contaminated site that nobody wants to pick up the tab to clean up. I have heard a few estimates to clean up the contaminated area and it is very large. Dogpatch is located next to Slag Point, so named for the several years they piled coal slag there from the historical coal mining days. Acres of wasteland were created by dumping the slag on the beach. Another form of mining followed and remains of the concrete piers for loading the mine tailings are still there. Next came the loggers and the harbour was extensively used as a log booming ground for several years. All of the pollutants are still to be found there. That my friends is the situation in "dogpatch". I stayed a few months there and was constantly bringing the coal dust and other crap back to the boat on the soles of my boots. Chunks of log and bark debris float around from the nearby Log sorting yard. Far from a pristine environment. I say if some of the boaters who have been "moved along" from other areas and find themselves in "dogpatch" then let them be.

The articles (2) from Harbour City Star are full of errors. In an earlier article they claimed there were 60 or so liveaboards in Nanaimo Harbour and many moved to Ladysmith. "rubbish". There never was 60 liveaboards in Nanaimo and I believe only 3 boats moved to Ladysmith. I know these people and they just want to be left alone without the hassles. If some characters are involved in criminal activity, let the RCMP deal with it just as they would in any other community.

Lets hope there is still a number of options open to boaters wishing to anchor elsewhere on this coast so they do not find themselves in "dogpatch".

[Viking 1]

Originally Posted by michaelmrc

Capt Phil I would be very interested in finding out more about this whistler conference

Hey Michael so would I, I checked out their conference schedule and appears they will have a speaker from Washington State explaining how they deal with it there.

Sorry for slamming Ladysmith - just saying it how I see it.

[Capt Phil]

Michaelmrc, the only info I have on the Municipal meeting came from past posts to this thread. I believe it is scheduled for Oct 10. I encouraged Brent Swain to attend because he seems very vested in this issue and it would be very enlightening for the assembly to hear about the liveaboards point of view from an articulate, passionate and INFORMED individual who Brent appears to be.

Viking 1, I towed many log booms into Ladysmith harbour in the 50's and 60's and was probably one of the many who contributed to the flotsam and jetsam there. I'm not proud of that at all, but it was a different time and none of us had a clue what we were doing would have any long term effects. All we were concerned with was not getting killed or badly injured working out there. By the look of your boat in the pic, it looks like a converted west coast troller or small seiner. They were wonderful sea boats and when i wasn't towing logs and barges, spent several years trolling on the west coast of VI out of Port Alberni and seined as far north as Alaska. Those were the years of the big sockeye runs in Rivers Inlet. Sounds like things have changed quite a bit and not all for the good, although False Creek used to be a pit until they cleaned it up... cheers, Capt Phil