Annapolis wreck in jeopardy - NEED YOUR SUPPORT

[princessaprilia]

Also, welcome back to the board, joolz.

 

[BradnerBoy]

I must admit, after reading "their" side of it, I don't know what's fact and what's fiction.

I will say however, I'm not pleased to read that only commercial operators will be able to tie up to the mooring buoy. If that is true, I would have to agree with the assertion that it's purely for commercial interests.

Anyone know this to be fact?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

An amazing amount of misinformation on that website.

Some things included in the Save Halkett Bay website I would dispute ...

If they're successful, Halkett Bay will change from a place used by moms and dads and kids who swim, paddle, row, sail, fish, boat, camp and anchor there to a dedicated diving site run by commercial interests.

NIMBY nonsense. The ship will occupy only a small part of the marine park, which is sufficiently offshore that it will have no affect on residents and swimmers. At worst, they will be able to see the boats that will be tied up to the moorings. And FWIW - I have no knowledge of any proposal to limit the site to commercial interests. I have seen private boats tied up to the moorings on the Breton and Sasketchewan many times ... and have personally dived the McKenzie off of a private boat using one of the moorings. Why would the Annapolis be any different?

“The idea of a commercially influenced group of divers want[ing] to blow up and sink a ship that cannot be guaranteed to be non-toxic, essentially crushing and displacing the healthy aquatic life that currently lives on the floor where this ship should land, is offensive and infuriating.”

I was part of the team that did the survey of the bottom where this vessel is projected to be placed. We laid a grid and did the survey of each section of the grid using HD video to show that there is little to no life currently growing in the area. That video was provided to the ARSBC to include in their EIS.

Furthermore, for the better part of a year I have been involved in the effort to clean this ship for sinking. I can attest to the fact that an amazing amount of effort has gone into pulling anything potentially toxic or hazardous ... either to the environment or the divers ... off of this vessel.

proposals for artificial reef have been rejected in California for "environmental considerations and potential liability concerns."

Misleading ... certain locations that were considered were rejected, others were approved. Ships to Reefs in California has placed several ships, and several more are currently under consideration.

I cannot speak to the effects of explosives on marine life, except to point out that two ships are currently sitting very near one of BC's most populous seal rookeries ... Snake Island ... and they did not appear to have done much, if any, harm to the marine mammals there. If this were a legitimate concern, I do not believe BC's government would've approved the environmental permits needed to sink those ships.

How do we know exactly where this ship would be sunk? When the Islands Trust mapped the coordinates for the sinking, it found that -- contrary to the drawings we were given -- the ship would protrude out of the park boundary by 43 feet.

I do not know the efficacy of this claim ... but I DO know, having been down there, that there is a specific location where this ship must go down. It is a flat shelf ... with a depth variance of about six feet ... over a 400-foot by 60-foot area. In other words, there is a tolerance of no more than 20 feet on either side of the surveyed area where the ship CAN land. On one side of that tolerance is a ledge that would cause the ship to lean over, and on the other side the bottom drops away rather quickly. So what we DO know is that if it does go down there, it MUST be placed precisely where the plan says it will go.

Given the depth and the dimensions of the vessel, the helicopter deck would reside at about 70 fsw, the bow at about 60 fsw, and the top of the structure at about 30 fsw. That leaves plenty of space for pleasure boat traffic to pass completely over the vessel if necessary.

Access and boater traffic would be impacted, but only in minor ways. Boaters must (but don't usually) avoid a moored dive boat by the specified 100-foot distance ... but dive boats will not always be in the area. Even on warm, week-end days, the presence of dive boats is really limited to a few hours per day.

Those who claim that sinking a ship does little or nothing to attract marine life haven't been on the two vessels currently sitting offshore of Snake Island. It's taken some years, to be sure ... but both of those vessels are teeming with life, and have attracted a very healthy fish population.

I suspect that the primary motivation behind this protest is that the residents don't want their views to be spoiled by the sight of dive boats in "their" bay ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[sunkmail]

I must admit, after reading "their" side of it, I don't know what's fact and what's fiction.

I will say however, I'm not pleased to read that only commercial operators will be able to tie up to the mooring buoy. If that is true, I would have to agree with the assertion that it's purely for commercial interests.

Anyone know this to be fact?

that is FALSE. Like all other wreck sites, anyone can tie up and dive .... once it's open to the public. From what I understand from Howie (The president of the ARSBC) is that for the first little while after sinking it will be off limits until appropriate safety checks and settling has completed. How long? Not sure - I don't think it's for too long.


For FACTS check out the ARSBC Position paper - I think it's on the annapolis page. They go point-by-point through the Halkett bay people's complaints with facts explaining everything. It's actually anentertaining read

 

[diddydidit]

I suspect that the primary motivation behind this protest is that the residents don't want their views to be spoiled by the sight of dive boats in "their" bay ...

Nailed it!

 

[tregrrr]

I cant understand why any one would object to a wreck sink... expecially if they get their facts straight.

what harm does a ARBC reef do??? nothing... its scrubbed clean... arbc is a world authority....I guess too many fish is a bad thing.

DOH.

 

[tregrrr]

hey anyone know when the big day is scheduled??

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

hey anyone know when the big day is scheduled??

Last time I asked Howie that question he said they were going to wait until all the permits were approved before setting a date. For sure it won't be until at least sometime next spring.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[cooldives]

It will sure be nice to have the Annapolis so close by so hopefully we can drum up lots of support.

We placed the info and address details on our information page Diving BC - News about the fantastic diving in British Columbia, Canada and sent it out in our newsletter as well.

Let's get her sunk already!!

 

[mustang_5l]

I can't wait for this project to finish. Hopefully it will attract more people to BC to come diving.