A sharp increase in the number of neglected boats anchored in Deep Cove has residents worried about pollution and access for other boats.
Deep Cove resident Brad Caldwell said that before 2008, there were no neglected boats in the cove, but the number has been slowly growing every year since then. This spring there are 11 boats in the cove.
"It's like garbage attracts garbage, right?" said Caldwell. "If everything's nice and clean you don't get much garbage, but the more garbage you get the more that accumulates, and I think it's kind of that way with boats."
The boats are in bad repair, with peeling paint, deep scratches and rusty hulls. One is piled high with old couch cushions and a bulging laundry hamper.
Bob Putnam, owner of Deep Cove Canoe and Kayak Centre, is concerned the boats might block access to other boats as they try to go in or out of the cove.
"It's a bit of a maze right now, having to navigate between these boats," said Putnam.
But Caldwell and Putnam's biggest concern is that people who live aboard the boats in the summer may be putting raw sewage directly into Deep Cove. The beach at Deep Cove's Panorama Park has a history of being closed repeatedly because of high fecal coliform readings.
After the District of North Vancouver launched a public awareness campaign, the beach has not had to be closed in the past three years.
"We don't know whether or not they have holding tanks or what they're doing," said Putnam, "Or whether they're coming ashore to use the washroom facilities in the middle of the night."
Port Metro's harbour master, Yoss Leclerc, said that the port is aware of the problem in Deep Cove and will be working with the District of North Vancouver to find a solution. The port keeps an eye on these types of boats on its regular patrols, but can only act if a boat poses an immediate environmental or safety threat.
In the meantime, said Leclerc, the port is working on a long-term solution for pleasure boats that overstay their welcome. The port is exploring the idea of creating a special area for recreational boaters somewhere in the Lower Mainland.
"Instead of having them going anywhere, we would have designated areas that would be managed," said Leclerc.
Leclerc suggested some of the boats in Deep Cove might have migrated over from False Creek after the City of Vancouver started enforcing new regulations in 2006 to deal with so-called "squatter boats."
The City of Vancouver spent more than five years developing its new moorage regulations, and two more years cleaning up the boats in False Creek. Now boaters can stay no longer than 14 days in the summer, and 40 days during the winter.
Jerry Dobrovolny, director of transportation for the City of Vancouver, said it took a long time to track down the owners of some of the boats.
The city also worked to find housing for some of the people who had been living aboard the boats, many of whom had substance abuse or mental health issues.
Dobrovolny, a boat owner himself, had some insight into why people let their boats fall into disrepair.
"There's the romance and the dream, and there's the fiscal reality, and there's a big gap between those two," said Dobrovolny.
"It's very hard for people as those two come together in a collision and the dream begins to be extinguished by the fiscal reality."
