It is an eerie feeling as you approach a shipwreck. No doubt there is a harrowing story behind how it ended up there, trapped on land.
On December 5, 2015, the winds rose to 90km/h, grounding the Pacific Sun King on the shore of Cadboro Bay in Victoria, BC. The 55 foot concrete vessel was home to Cyril Manuel, who used his last $600 to get it towed there only days before from another local harbour that squeezed him out. For some, live-aboard anchor boating can be a path to affordable housing, but it doesn’t come without its hazards.
The Pacific Sun King lies partially buried in the sands of Cadboro Bay beach.
Wreckage of derelict boats is not uncommon after big storms. While there are the obvious environmental concerns of fuel spills, one recently grounded vessel in Victoria was responsible for dumping dozens of hypodermic needles onto the beach. Often the boats are unregistered, with their owners nowhere to be found. The multijurisdictional nightmare of vessel salvage often results in the remains sitting for long periods before they are removed.
In an effort to rid the harbours of derelict boats and anchored live-aboards, the municipality of Saanich, BC has now passed a bylaw preventing boats from anchoring longer than 72 hours within 300m of the shore.