• When the crew of the 36-foot fishing boat Malula showed up at French Creek Marina last Friday morning they discovered the boat’s bow sticking straight up in the air and the stern of the ship submerged in the ocean.
Brenda Gough reports the tugboat Pender Island used its big winch to haul the commercial vessel up and out of the water.
Pumps were then put into action to get the boat floating again. Work also began to contain the fuel spill that resulted from the sinking, including the use of booms and skimmers.
Staff at the French Creek Port Authority wouldn’t comment on the event, saying only that the fuel spill had been taken care of and the oil booms would be removed the next day.
Crew members were onboard the aluminum boat in the afternoon assessing the damage and trying to determine the cause of the sinking but they also had no comment.
• The local Navy League needs help.
Commodor Pete Betcher, who is serving as the interim president of the Oceanside group, said he’s facing a serious leadership vacuum after the group’s June AGM.
“Our branch imploded and I took over as interim branch president,” he said. “I have a good nucleus of people, but I need help to move forward and gain momentum.”
He said the previous president left the organization in order to have a baby and nobody was willing to step forward to fill the top spot.
“I am the oversight for the Island and we were asked to step in and keep things running,” he said. “Fortunately I have some awesome peep who are there for the right reasons and we’re building up a new team.”
He noted however that, to date, the branch only has eight Navy League cadets on board, although there are a lot more Sea Cadets.
“We need to get more people out there,” he said.
For more information or to help out, call Betcher at 250-754-9232.
• Members of the Abreast of Life Dragon Boat team must still be wondering how they did it.
Parksville’s Becky Perron, who paddles with the team, said they finished sixth out of 10 teams at last weekend’s regatta in Nanaimo, but it was a paddle to remember.
“It was the first time we ever had five races in one day,” Perron said. “We did three back to back, while we usually have three races in the whole day.”
However, she said she was pleased with the way the crew responded to the gruelling challenge.
“The ladies were strong all the way through the races and we won one,” she said.
The team had planned last weekend to compete at Sproat Lake to wind up the season, but inclement weather canceled the event.