Sydney owner of wreck in Roberts Bay says he won’t leave

The owner of a semi-submersible vessel in Sydney’s Roberts Bay isn’t clear why it got in the water, but hopes to have it afloat by 5 a.m. Thursday.

“Otherwise, it’s another day, a salvage crew,” he said, adding that he’s working closely with the Canadian Coast Guard and Fisheries and Marine Canada. I want to say no…and I’m doing everything in my power.”

Local resident Joe Quinn made these comments after conversing with a crew member of the Canadian Coast Guard’s Zodiac near his vessel named Maud J. Quinn.

“The Coast Guard is just there and they’re watching and they’re just amazed,” he said when asked about the 100-liter diesel reportedly on the ship.

“It’s actually really pretty,” he said. “What you’ve been doing, keep doing it.”

After purchasing the vessel at Ladysmith for about three months, Quinn intended to sail it from Cowichan Bay to Roberts Bay and to haul it out of the water at Canoe Cove.

“They were busy and I was starting to think about other options, but it was too late.

Quinn arrived on Monday and anchored about 200 yards offshore from her current location. “(I) did everything I had to do,” he explained the mooring procedure. Quinn, who said he lived “around the corner” in Roberts Bay, went ashore and went to sleep. “(I) woke up to a horror show,” he said.

It is not clear why the boat went into the water. “That’s what I’m waiting to find out,” he said. “Once you’ve spit it out, you’ll know[why]. There were only three ways I could absorb so much water that quickly — I flipped the plank up, which I can’t fix. No, it blew up the penetrating hull.

Quinn said the ship reached Roberts Bay under his own power, and Quinn’s social media shows the ship sailing next to larger commercial vessels.

According to Nauticapedia, the wooden-hulled Mode J was built in 1939, is 40 feet long and has a gross tonnage of 14.88 tons. That screw her propeller is powered by her 36 hp diesel her engine.

“A beautiful wooden vessel,” Quinn said of her.

Quinn said a local company had already offered to deal with the boat’s disposal if he chose to go that route, and did everything possible to address potential environmental issues. added.

“The Coast Guard is happy with me,” he said. “I’ve done everything I can do better than ever, so they’re used to people sinking in and walking away. I’m not that guy.”

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