Ty Dewi aka Nanimo Marine Salvage and Harbour Protection

What is it about boat owners on this coast that makes it difficult for them to keep their boats in one place? After our 'good deed' in Salt Spring, the past twenty four hours see us helping out with three more.

Yesterday evening, as we were saying goodbye to some friends who had been aboard for a drink, the wind sprang up from the north-west. It's blown at, oh, maybe twenty knots at times which seems to be a BC yachtsmans gale, given the effect on the harbour.

Near us is a knackered old concrete boat in an advanced state of decay, obviously bought by someone with more hopes than money. She's been gradually dragging her anchor towards us all week in the light southerlies. With this shift, she swung around and merrily advanced on a nice sailboat who had anchored there for the night. Her crew looked nervously as the big ugly boat stopped a few feet ahead of them. I popped over in the dinghy, suggested that the boat was on a very light anchor and they'd be better moving, which they did. As for the concrete boat, I'm afraid she's one of the few that I wouldn't fight to save if there's no-one aboard. She actually stayed put all night, but as I write she's gone another thirty yards to the south.

At the same time, we noticed a cute little racing boat that we'd looked at on her mooring on the otherside of the harbour. She was now on our side of the harbour and moving gradually southwards. This one I'd better go get. It seems she's dragging because, apart from her mooring being too light for the job, she's got her keel tangled and is sideways to the wind. I decided to pull her backwards a bit and that worked to free the keel. Then she was lying to her mooring which I could untie more easily. After an aborted attempt to tow her by her bow, I lashed the dinghy alongside and brought her up to Ty Dewi. Unlike the last time, we now have a rough plan for these events and Gesa had already got fenders out, lines ready and we tied the boat alongside us. This morning I went back to her mooring buoy, copied the phone number from it and left the guy a message. He's on his way.

As I'm putting the phone away, we look across at the next door boat and find it's two next door boats, almost touching. Here we go again. The boat that has dragged down is another one here just for a night or two, and has a dinghy alongside but no-one is awake yet. Once again I grab my lifejacket, jump in our dinghy and pop over. A sharp rap on her hull brings a sleepy face to the companionway door. "Yep?". "Sorry sir, but you're dragging." He looks out. "F**k. Sorry, let me just get dressed." He's got his son aboard and doesn't need help to move his boat, so I come back for breakfast.

Lord knows what would happen if a real breeze ever blew through here. Now let me go look up the laws on salvage rights....