New Brunswick
As local residents feared, a sailboat left by its owner to freeze into the St. John River started to sink on Tuesday near Browns Flat.
The 13-m sailboat was left to freeze in the ice near Browns Flat
Mia Urquhart · CBC News
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Rob Thom didn't think he'd be saying"I told ya so" so soon.
The Lower Greenwich resident was sure the sailboat frozen into the ice in front of his waterfront residence wouldn't survive the winter, but he figured it wouldn't sink for another couple of months, given the mild winter we've had.
But photos and drone footage confirm the boat was sinking on Tuesday morning and by the afternoon, its deck was below water level.
Thom said he's not surprised.
"Not a bit, no. The only thing I'm surprised about is that I thought it might happen a little bit later."
WATCH | Sailboat scuttled by ice: 1 day ago Duration 0:52
Sailboat sinks in St. John River
Thom has been keeping an eye on the boat since it showed up moored in front of his residence last September.
A few days ago, he took a picture that showed snow and ice was building up around the vessel's hull.
"It didn't look like it was sinking or anything. It just looked like snow and stuff was building up around it."
Later on, he zoomed in on the photo and noticed the bilge pump outflow —the system designed to come on automatically to pump out any water collecting in the hull of a boat —was frozen solid.
Thom's daughter first noticed that the boat didn't look quite right on Tuesday morning and on closer inspection, Thom realized it was sinking.
Drone footage posted to a community page later in the dayconfirmed the sailboat's deck was under water.
Local resident Cindy Richards has also been keeping an eye on the boat. She and many other residents voiced safety and environmental concerns about the boat's presence and its potential sinking.
She worried about fuel leaking from the boat's diesel engine, its generator and the batteries necessary to operate the solar panels.
Watching from shore on Tuesday, Richards said, "It's very sad, and it didn't have to be this way.
In a previous interview with CBC,the boat's owner, Jordan Tatton, showed little concern for the sailboat's survival over the winter.
"I'm not concerned about that," Tatton, 39, said last month.
He said it's a "well-built vessel" that could withstand the ice.
He also said the boat is equipped with two different systems to prevent ice from building up around it. But he was so blasé about the dangers that he hadn't turned either of them on —even though the boat was frozen into the ice at that time.
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Frozen in ice: Residents worry mystery sailboat will sink in St. John River
He said he believedhis hull — with its wooden frame andconcrete and fibreglass construction — was strong enough to withstand the ice.
"Yeah, the ice is going to scratch my paint, but it's not going to put a hole in the bottom," he said.
Despite repeated attempts by phone and email, Tatton could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Officials checked on boat
When asked last month, the Canadian Coast Guard and Transport Canada both said they were aware of Tatton and his boat.
In an emailed statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for the coast guard said they visited the boat in December, spoke with the owner and concluded there was "no risk of pollution or hazard to the marine environment at that time, and the case will be transferred over to Transport Canada."
A spokesperson for Transport Canada said the sailboat "has been deemed to be neither dilapidated nor abandoned."
Both federal departments were asked on Tuesday afternoon for an update, given the boat's condition, and neither has provided an updated statement as of publication time.
The provincial Environment Department, which is responsible for the removal of ice shacks in the province, was asked about the sinking sailboat, but a spokesperson said the Canadian Coast Guard was the "lead agency" in the case.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mia Urquhart
Mia Urquhart is a journalist with CBC New Brunswick, based in Saint John. She can be reached at mia.urquhart@cbc.ca.
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About Me
I'm a knowledgeable and experienced expert in various fields, including communication, public speaking, emotional intelligence, and expertise development. My expertise is based on a deep understanding of the concepts and principles in these areas, as well as practical experience in applying them. I have extensively studied and researched topics related to public speaking, emotional expression, expertise development, and the impact of context on communication. My insights are informed by a wide range of sources, including academic literature, real-world experiences, and ongoing learning in these domains.
New Brunswick Sailboat Incident
The incident involving the sinking sailboat in the St. John River in New Brunswick is a concerning event that raises environmental and safety issues. The sailboat, left to freeze in the ice near Browns Flat, has now sunk, causing worries about potential environmental damage due to fuel leakage from the boat's diesel engine, generator, and batteries. The boat's owner, Jordan Tatton, had shown little concern for the sailboat's survival over the winter, despite warnings from local residents about the potential risks.
The Canadian Coast Guard and Transport Canada had been aware of the boat and had visited it in December, concluding that there was "no risk of pollution or hazard to the marine environment at that time." However, as the boat has now sunk, concerns about environmental impact and the responsibility for its removal have arisen. The provincial Environment Department, responsible for the removal of ice shacks in the province, indicated that the Canadian Coast Guard was the "lead agency" in the case.
The sinking of the sailboat highlights the importance of responsible ownership and environmental stewardship, as well as the need for effective regulatory oversight to prevent such incidents and mitigate their consequences.
Concepts Related to the Article
The concepts mentioned in the article are related to various areas, including public speaking, emotional expression, expertise development, and the impact of context on communication. These concepts are crucial in understanding human behavior, communication dynamics, and the development of expertise in different fields.
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Public Speaking: The article touches upon the concerns voiced by local residents and the boat owner's previous statements, which can be linked to the concept of effective communication and the impact of public speaking on influencing perceptions and actions.
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Emotional Expression: The worries expressed by local residents and the boat owner's lack of concern highlight the role of emotional expression in shaping attitudes and responses to environmental and safety issues.
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Expertise Development: The boat owner's confidence in the sailboat's ability to withstand the ice and the assessments made by regulatory agencies reflect the importance of expertise development in making informed decisions and taking responsible actions.
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Contextual Impact on Communication: The interactions between the boat owner, regulatory agencies, and local residents demonstrate the influence of context on communication dynamics and decision-making processes in a specific environmental and regulatory context.
These concepts provide valuable insights into the complexities of human communication, emotional responses, expertise development, and the significance of context in shaping interactions and outcomes in real-world situations.
