Sailboat frozen into the St. John River now sinking
The 13-m sailboat was left to freeze in the ice near Browns Flat
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."
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."
When
Rob Thom zoomed in on this photo he took of the Not a Starship, he
noticed the water that appeared to come from the bilge pump outlet was
actually frozen solid. (Submitted by Rob Thom)
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 day confirmed 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.
Not a Starship as seen in a drone video on the afternoon of Feb. 13, 2024. (Submitted by Shawn Scovil)
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.
In January, Jordan Tatton said he was confident his boat would survive the winter in the ice. (Submitted by Jordan Tatton)
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.
He said he believed his hull — with its wooden frame and concrete 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.
A group of snowmobilers checks out the boat a few weeks ago. (Submitted by Rob Thom)
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."
The Not a Starship seen in better days. This photo was taken on Jan. 9, 2024. (Mike Heenan/CBC)
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.
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On Tuesday, both were asked about the sinking, but so far, neither has provided a response. On Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson with the coast guard apologized for the delay in responding and said, "Our program folks needed to discuss with Transport Canada."
She said a response "is moving through the system" and she expected to have it ready on Thursday. "
Even the Feds are ducking their heads
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